A Losing Game
by Squit Ayumin
Summary: He thought soccer was all he wanted until he lost his chance with her. Throwing himself into an overwhelming downward spiral, Tai learns that life is not always so easy, fame not so infinite and that, sometimes, you aren't the good guy after all.
1. Chapter 1

My love for Digimon came back when I visited family in Japan for my spring recess this year, so I thought I'd try to pen a Taiora. I _adore_ Tai, and I was admittedly one of those fans who was extremely disappointed that he didn't end up with Sora—or to be more accurate, I was appalled at the fact she ended up with Matt.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon. Rated T for mild language that will get worse in later chapters. Taiora, Sorato.

**A Losing Game  
**Squit Ayumin

_"Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Tohoku, Nagoya, Shinshu, Hitotsubashi._

_"They're all coming this season, and they're all coming to see you._

_"You're our star player._

_"Kamiya, go make your school proud."_

**Chapter 1**

Tai Kamiya reeked.

It was getting to the point where he couldn't even stand it himself.

He slowed his pace and grabbed onto a pole of the goal net, finally allowing himself a well-overdue break.

In addition to his foul odour, he was dripping in sweat and gasping for air.

He took off his sweatband, it no longer having any use other than as a drenched piece of cloth clinging to his hot skin.

Each cusp of air he took felt like a thousand knives ripping his throat open. He couldn't remember the last time it hurt so much to do something as essential as breathing.

His legs were trembling, begging him to stop the torture. The pains searing through his nerves warned him of an imminent breakdown.

His throat and lungs throbbing, he let out a hoarse cough that began a chain of uncontrollable coughing. The violent spasms erupting from him added to the difficulty he already had of breathing. They were choking him.

Every sane part of his body told him to call it a day.

"_You may be this school's ace, Kamiya, but there are plenty of other players who are much, much better than you. If you want to gain even a sliver of these scouts' attention, you have to train and train until you pass out; even then, you better get off your ass and train some more."_

He pressed two fingers to his throat and coughed with all his might, allowing oxygen circulation, however painful, to ensue.

Tossing his sweatband aside, he forced himself to pick up his legs and run onto the field again.

He had only kicked around the ball a few times before he stopped himself.

It wasn't because of his stench, or his lack of air, or his strained muscles.

Rather, it was a girl standing right where he had moments ago by the goal post, smiling sympathetically at him.

"S…Sora?" he managed to pant. "What—haa—are you—haa—doing—haa—here…?"

She walked closer to him, his abandoned sweatband in her hand. "Don't you think you're overworking yourself just a little?"

Even though it was only Sora, even though she had seen him smelly and sweaty a million times, and even though he had seen her just as unappealing—

Despite all that, he suddenly became a little self-conscious of his outer appearance. "Er, d…don't come—haa—too close—haa. I—haa—smell—haa—really bad…."

"Believe me, I can smell you plenty from here," she assured, though her expression showed no discomfort. "I think you're done."

"No, I'm not." He tried to speak as normally as possible, desperately trying to control is erratic breathing. "That was just a warm-up. Now, I'm going to—" He stopped, quickly catching something mid-air that had been thrown to him.

A water bottle.

Sora had picked up his Gatorade bottle and was shaking it to show there was nothing inside. "If you're going to do these insane workouts, the least you can do is hydrate yourself, Tai."

His urge to prove her wrong wasn't strong enough to keep him from downing the precious drink in a few, large gulps.

His own drink had disappeared about an hour ago. He had never gone back inside for more because he didn't want to interrupt his flow of training.

Sora smiled at him. "I just finished tennis. You look like you're about ready to finish up too, so I guess I can wait for you."

He felt slightly irritated. "Actually, I'm planning to stay for a few more hours. Just go home, Sora. You're just wasting your time if you wait for me."

"I'll wait a few hours then." She looked up to the dim sky. "It'll be dark soon anyway. You'll need supervision on the way home."

His irritation increased, though he knew she was joking. "Suit yourself. If you want to sit here for the next three hours, it's your problem, not mine."

She seemed unfazed by his rudeness. Instead, she nodded and walked to the edge of the field. She smiled at him again before sitting down on the floor.

He pretended to disregard her and focus on the ball in front of him instead, but less than ten minutes later, he had given in and was heading towards the locker room.

* * *

As the cold water cascaded down his body, Tai decided showers were God's giving. His skin agreed, relishing in the hydration of clean water as opposed to his grimy sweat.

Even though it was only a dirty, public shower stall, he could stand there all day.

_Except Sora's waiting outside in the dark for you by herself._

He wouldn't say it to her, but he secretly wished she hadn't shown up. First, he had been forced to end his practice early. Now, he was forced to essentially jump in and out of the shower he had been looking forward to since he had first gotten onto the field.

Oh well. It couldn't be helped.

He quickly soaped his hair and body, giving it almost no time to seep in before rinsing it away. He turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing his towel to dry his semi-clean body. He decided to do Sora a favour by spraying some cologne before running out to find his friend.

His shower would have to continue at home.

* * *

His duffel bag slung over his shoulder, he glanced at Sora and replied dully, "Not really, no."

"Come on! My treat!" she insisted, taking him by the arm and pulling him into the passing shop.

Tai was starving, but Coach had put him on a diet to build muscle and increase energy.

Ice cream, he was fairly sure, was off limits.

"I'm not really in the mood," he tried again.

She gave him a knowing look. "It's not going to kill you. If you're going to be a girl about it, just have frozen yoghurt." She looked at him again and gave a soft giggle. "They have different flavours and everything. You can even get fruit on it!"

The stab at his masculinity was so great that he couldn't string audible words in his defence.

"Welcome to Miotsu Ice Cream. How can I serve you today?"

Tai noticed for the first time the attractive girl behind the counter, beaming at them.

He added yet another reason as to why he wished Sora had never shown up.

"Could I get a small strawberry ice cream and a small frozen yoghurt with—" She turned to him. "Pick up to three toppings."

"I don't want frozen yoghurt!" he snapped finally.

Sora smiled at her irritated friend. "Then what do you want?"

He grumbled beneath his breath.

She smiled knowingly and turned back to the working girl. "Could you make that frozen yoghurt a double chocolate instead?"

Tai looked away, not wanting to succumb. He would work it off later. After all, it was only ice cream… And since when was he one to stick to such a strict dietary regimen? He had fast metabolism.

"That will be ¥700."

His mind immediately shifted gears as he went to Sora's side, grabbing her purse from her hands.

"I'm not going to make you _pay_ for me!" he responded, incredulously.

"Why not?" Sora blinked, as if what she was doing was perfectly acceptable. "I said I'd treat you."

He didn't respond, instead searching through his bag for his own nearly-empty wallet.

"Tai!" Sora complained. She reached for the wallet in his hand, but he just raised his arm higher. "Tai!"

He continued to ignore her, finally tugging his wallet out of its compartment and digging through it for coins.

"Don't pay for me!"

He finally handed the girl a banknote. "Don't worry about it, Sora."

"Tai!"

"You would have damaged my pride if you didn't let me pay."

The ice cream girl giggled. "You have a very sweet boyfriend."

Sora blushed and hit Tai in the arm, holding onto it as she said, "I said I'd treat you…"

She hadn't refuted the girl's comment, and he didn't care enough to correct a stranger—albeit one he would have asked out if not for the presence of said assumed girlfriend.

As she gave him his change, Tai wished Sora would release her arm around his. It was in the way of—

For a split second, he wondered if she was flirting with him. After all, Sora wasn't really a touchy person, yet she was clinging to his arm as she continued to tell him how she had wanted to pay.

The thought disappeared with the appearance of their respective ice cream cones, and he released his arm from her grasp himself to reach for the tantalising chocolate.

* * *

"Tai, I think you're pushing yourself too hard," Sora began as they left the shop and began to walk home. "I'm sure you'll get an offer even without this maniacal training, and I'm pretty sure you won't get one if you're dead."

"What are you talking about?" Tai grinned and raised his arms in the air. "This is just the beginning, Sora! I'll have to work a lot harder if I want to play soccer in university."

"Are you going to try to become a professional?"

Tai's smile faded, and he looked deep in thought. They had known each other for so long, yet this was the first time either had asked about the distant future.

He shrugged. "Probably not. I'm not good enough, and it's better to aspire for something a little more realistic."

"I see…"

"But I'm playing it for as long as I can!" Tai added, beaming. "I'd be happy with anything, but I really want Tokyo or Hitotsubashi. I just need to train more." He grinned and nudged her. "Or maybe Kyoto will recruit me and we can go there together."

"They haven't accepted me yet!" Sora protested quickly. "But I believe in you, Tai." She grabbed the sling of his duffel bag to stop him, giving him a serious look. "And you're wrong. You're really good. You could probably become a professional if you tried. Come on, Tai, you're our school's godsend!"

"I'm not, but thanks for the flattery." He laughed as he began walking again.

"I'll tell you what, Tai." Sora stepped in front of him and stuck out her pinky finger to his chin. "If you get an offer, I'll take you out to the best restaurant in Odaiba—no, Tokyo!"

He looked at the finger in front of him.

This was a first.

He laughed and clasped his own finger around hers. "All right, Sora. It's a date."

* * *

He had walked her home, of course, even though her home was farther away than his.

"I'm home!" he announced as he entered his flat.

"Welcome home, darling. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes!"

Tai stopped by the kitchen. His mother was busily in the midst of mixing a rather grey concoction in a pot. "Hi Mum."

"How was practice?" she asked, nodding towards his dirty uniform. "You certainly look like you got a lot done."

"It was all right," Tai answered hazily before disappearing into his room.

He immediately threw his belongings to a corner and collapsed on the bed, his sore legs finally failing him.

"Tai, did you just lie down on your bed without showering? I just washed your sheets!" came his mother's scolding voice from behind the door.

"I showered at school!" he hollered back, half-honestly, before passing out.

* * *

To those who don't know much about Japanese geography, Odaiba is a district of Tokyo.

I decided to call football "soccer" in this story because of the tremendous American base this site seems to have.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry this took forever to update, but I somehow lost Chapters 2-7 and was busily mourning the loss. Updates should come faster now, but, needless to say, I'm not quite as satisfied with them as I was the first time around.

Thanks to everyone who wrote me reviews! I love reading them!

The first scene of this chapter starts between the last two scenes of the first chapter because I wanted to show Sora's point of view as well.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 2**

"You're going to the game tomorrow, right?" Tai asked as they approached the front of Sora's flat complex. "It's against Tamachi FC. I can finally go against Ken and see how great he really is."

Tai rarely walked her home. On days when neither had after-school activities, they would walk home together, yes, but Tai never seemed to just go home after school anymore. Besides, even when they did walk home together, she basically lived across the street. There was never any reason for him to walk her to her actual flat complex.

She supposed it was because it was dark that Tai felt some need to walk the extra distance, but she was secretly pleased by his gesture.

She smiled, watching as he attempted to fix his tousled, damp hair.

"Of course I'm going!" Sora replied. She went to every one of his games, though he failed to show up at a single tennis match of hers. "Are there going to be any scouts?"

"Probably not. I think it's too early for that." He shrugged but instantly brightened. "A game's a game though, and I think Davis finally has a start-up position!"

She smiled at his contagious enthusiasm. "Well, I'll definitely be there."

Tai grinned and put his hands in his pockets. He looked up to the flat complex's entrance sign, signalling her to go inside. "Go ahead. Your mum's probably worried since it's so dark already."

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," she agreed.

"Remember to tell your mum I responsibly took you home," she heard him joke as she stepped inside. She smiled at him again before shutting the door behind her, and he took a hand out of his pocket to give her a slight wave. Once she turned her back to him, her smile widened as she made her way to the lift.

Tai really had matured since they had become friends in primary school. Not only emotionally and mentally, but even… physically.

Sora felt her face grow hot as she pushed the lift button.

She never thought she would consider _Tai Kamiya_ attractive. After all, they were such good friends…

"_All right, Sora. It's a date."_

Her face grew hotter. She was so flustered thinking about it that she simply watched as the lift doors opened, almost forgetting to go inside. It took a beep indicating closing doors for her to remember and scurry in.

She closed her eyes after she pressed the button to her floor, trying to calm her fluttering heart.

It was only Tai. Stupid, strictly-friends Tai. She knew he would never see her as anything more than a friend, because, as far as Tai was concerned, Sora was just another guy.

She frowned.

Since middle school, she had tried hard to change. Tennis replaced soccer. Pins replaced hats. Skirts replaced jeans. Blouses replaced t-shirts. Hardly anybody could tell she was ever a tomboy…

Except Tai.

He _still_ asked her to play soccer with her when he found nobody else, even though he already knew her answer. He raised an eyebrow when she wore skirts outside of school. He even laughed the first time he saw her wear makeup.

_Ding!_

She stared at her reflection in the opening elevator doors.

She wasn't ugly, she decided. Sure, right now she was in a desperate need of a shower, but that was because she had been playing tennis since school got out. Usually, she thought she looked fairly decent.

As she made her way through the corridor to her flat, she tried to think about how to catch his attention—make him realise they were meant for each other.

Writing a love letter was what Mimi suggested, but Sora could already see Tai bursting into laughter and sharing the letter with all his soccer teammates. Besides, writing sappy letters like that wasn't really Sora's cup of tea.

Then Mimi told her she would drop a subtle hint to Tai herself, but Sora wasn't about to let that happen either. She could already envision Mimi's "subtle hint": _"Tai, Sora loves you and can't stop thinking about you! Hurry up and buy her roses, chocolates and a stuffed animal and tell her you feel the same! Then get married and make sure to have me as the chief bridesmaid, because I'm the one who set you two up together!"_

It was an exaggerated thought, but Sora knew Mimi would make her "hint" anything but subtle.

Other than Mimi, Sora hadn't told anybody else.

Yolei would get excited and make it too obvious as well, but, unlike Mimi, she actually lived within close proximity of Tai. Kari was Tai's sister, and, despite being calmer than Mimi and Yolei, Sora knew it would put her in an awkward situation.

She inserted her key into her flat door, sighing.

Tai really was a hopeless idiot.

* * *

Tai gave himself no time to think or breathe as he forced his legs to carry him to school in the shortest time possible—or at least before the bell rang.

He had woken up late this morning, not really remembering when he had fallen asleep the night before. After a quick shower and a mad rush at finishing forgotten homework, he realised he hadn't taken into account the time it would take for him to get to school.

If he were late, he'd have detention. If he had detention, he'd miss the first part of his soccer practice. If he missed the first part of his soccer practice, Coach would kill him—or worse. He would make him sit out for a part of tonight's game.

Colourful language racing through his mind, Tai desperately forced himself to run even faster.

Today was the game against Tamachi High School, and he was not about to let detention compromise his starting position.

He saw the gates of the school and tried to run faster, though his legs seemed to scream to him that this was the fastest they could go.

When he finally reached the gate, he grabbed onto one end of the gate as his body forcibly jerked towards the school. He dashed towards the entrance but was stopped by a voice.

"Kamiya, you're late."

Tai came to a sudden halt and turned around. Arms crossed, the vice-principal of his school was standing in front of a small group of students.

Tai often thought that this man was scarier and more annoying than the headmaster himself.

The vice-principal frowned. "Join the other tardy delinquents, Kamiya."

"But—"

"Join the crowd, Kamiya," he repeated, his tone more stern.

Scowling, Tai jogged up to the other students. He sulkily stood there, refusing to move over as more late students joined the group. He didn't care that he was being a jerk, too annoyed by the fact that he hadn't made it on time.

"In case none of you are aware, school here has always started at 8:00 sharp," the vice-principal began after a few minutes. "It has been that way since you first enrolled here as pupils. It has been that way since the gates of his fine institution first opened all those years ago. I, as well as every member of this school's faculty, expect the very best out of every one of our students. _This includes timeliness! _Tardiness is not allowed once you advance onto the working world. Just one tardy, and you should not be surprised to find your employer firing you on the spot. Consider yourselves lucky that we only give mild punishment here rather than expulsion. This sort of kindness is not to be expected when you lot are working in your careers." He paused for dramatic effect. Tai rolled his eyes. "As for your punishment, run ten laps around the yard and get your sorry selves to class."

Tai tried hard not to grin.

That wasn't bad at all! Ten laps? That was easy!

"Briefcases _up_!" the vice-principal barked. "Why are you tossing them aside? What kind of a punishment do you think this is?"

Tai's face fell. "I've got my soccer bag too."

The vice-principal frowned, showing no sign of pity. "Then I suggest you put your briefcase in your bag, Kamiya, unless you want to run holding _two_ bags in the air."

This time, Tai tried hard not to frown as he stuffed his briefcase in his bag.

He had nearly ripped out lungs apart running to school, just so he could tear out his arms running around the schoolyard.

* * *

Sora looked up as the door of the classroom opened and Tai walked in, looking quite dishevelled and ready to commit murder.

"How very nice of you to join us today, Kamiya," greeted their teacher, Mr Mizumi.

Tai promptly ignored their teacher as he took his seat beside Sora. He pretended to strangle himself before he removed his school jacket, loosened his tie and reached into his soccer bag for his water bottle.

"Kamiya, I have asked you multiple times not to bring that smelly duffel bag into this class," Mr Mizumi scolded disapprovingly. "Tardy _and_ disrespectful. Not very good traits for a growing young man."

Tai muttered an apology under his breath.

"And speaking to a teacher when dressed so improperly. Kamiya, what are we going to do with you?"

Tai tried hard to look apologetic, tightening his tie a tiny bit in an attempt to salvage his appearance.

"Turn to page 156 in your maths book, please, Kamiya," Mr Mizumi said, surrendering.

Tai threw his book on the desk and arbitrarily opened it to what he assumed was page 156.

"It's hot," Tai complained to Sora as he slumped on the back of his chair. "Why is it so hot?"

Sora looked at him piteously. "Did the vice-principal make you run laps?"

"Yeah, the bastard," Tai grunted as he massaged one of his arms. "I'm still sore from yesterday too." He looked down at his textbook, which was actually on page 153. Quite impressed with his guesswork, he flipped it two more pages over to the correct page. His expression fell upon seeing the complicated calculus formulas staring back at him. "I'm too exhausted for maths."

"What about tonight's game?"

"Oh, I'll be better by then," he said nonchalantly, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him before.

"What about practice?"

"Then too."

"And Phys. Ed.?"

"Maybe." Tai was now staring at the ceiling. "It depends how much I can relax during maths."

"You shouldn't put so much physical pressure on yourself before a big game, Tai. It'll wear you out." She frowned. "And you really shouldn't prioritise soccer over your education."

Tai looked at her and grinned. "I'm all right."

"Kamiya, Takenouchi, would you like to share your fascinating conversation that is apparently so much more interesting than our maths lesson?"

Sora blushed, embarrassed as other students _ooh_-ed.

Tai looked away, taking another gulp of his drink.

"All right, pipe down, you lot." Mr Mizumi scowled at the _ahh_-ing students. "Kamiya, Takenouchi, don't think I won't separate you two."

Sora rushed to apologise.

"And, please, Kamiya, show a little respect. I know you have a big game today, but don't interrupt everybody else's time with it."

* * *

Mr Mizumi was, despite what he made himself look like, a decent fellow. He especially seemed to be fond of Tai and allowed him to essentially do whatever he wanted.

Either that, or he would rather not have to deal with Tai's behaviour.

Therefore, for lunch, Tai and Sora often left their class to eat with Matt in his. Today, however, Tai had opted to skip lunch (choosing instead to secretly eat it during Physics class later) to put in some extra practice for the game.

"I'm nervous for him," Sora said, setting down her food on Matt's desk. "You should have seen him yesterday, Matt. I thought he was going to die. And, this morning, that new vice-principal made him run laps around the school. _And_ he had to run for Phys. Ed. He really shouldn't be practising right now. He should be conserving his energy."

Matt shrugged, knowing Sora's tendency to fuss and nag. "He just wants to get better. It's like you with tennis and me with music. We all practise to get better."

"But he has a game today," Sora insisted. "He isn't going to perform his best if he's exhausted. He looked terrible last night when I saw him after school too."

Matt looked sceptical again. "You're not giving him enough credit. Tai's extremely talented, and a lot of work and effort is expected in clubs and teams. It's good he has the drive. Besides, he probably wants to impress any scouts that may be there."

"He told me there wouldn't be," Sora argued, getting a bit annoyed that Matt was not seeing her point.

Matt sighed as he pushed his food around with his chopsticks. "Sora, don't worry so much about him. He probably knows what he's doing. He's not as stupid as you think he is." He paused as he lifted his chopsticks to his mouth. "Though I guess he _is_ pretty stupid."

"He's not stupid," Sora retorted immediately, offended. "He's just spontaneous. Sure, he can be a bit careless, but he knows what he's doing!"

Matt looked a little taken aback by Sora's outburst. "Er, that's what I just said…" Rather than linger on the subject, he cleared his throat and looked back down at his lunch. "Anyway, we should go to Tai's game together tonight."

Sora's irritation disappeared and was replaced with disbelief. "_You're_ going? I thought you hated soccer."

"I don't _hate_ it," Matt responded. "It's just that, all things being equal, I'd rather not watch high school soccer teams go against each other for an hour and a half."

She was still puzzled. "Then why are you going to this one?"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "If you don't want to go together, you can just say so."

Sora realised her rudeness and quickly shook her head. "Oh, no! No! Definitely not!" She stopped shaking her head to smile at him. "I think that's a great idea! Yolei and them are planning to go too, so we can all go together!"

He looked unsure but took her acceptance, nodding in confirmation as he took another bite of his lunch.

"It should be a great game," Sora added for sake of conversation. Matt wasn't nearly as talkative as most of her other friends, and he almost seemed unaffected by awkward pauses in dialogue. "I can't wait!"

* * *

"Number 18 Motomiya shoots! Ooh, but it's blocked by—wait! Kamiya takes the ball and scores! Number 10 Kamiya scores the first goal for Odaiba tonight, tying the score 1-1!"

Cheers filled the majority of the field.

Sora stood up to cheer loudly. Beside her, Yolei followed suit while Matt continued to stare blankly at the field.

"Matt!" she exclaimed. "This is supposed to be exciting! Tai just scored a goal!"

He blinked. "I am excited."

Beside him, TK smiled and leaned in to whisper something to his brother. Matt gave TK an annoyed look before staring at the field once again.

"Great night for soccer, huh, Sora?" TK asked suddenly, still smiling. Without waiting for an answer, he turned his focus back to the game.

Matt gave him another annoyed look.

"Ken Ichijouji is so beautiful."

Yolei.

Sora watched as Yolei's eyes glistened with delight before her face contorted with defeat. "How can it be that even _guys_ are prettier than I am?" She sighed. "Sora, who do you think is the hottest guy on our team?"

Sora felt her cheeks get a little pink. "I don't know."

Yolei grinned. "Come on! They're all so cute!" Her grin faded for a moment. "Except Davis, of course. That's a given."

"That's too weird of a question," Sora replied dismissively. "I know all of them."

Yolei rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Sora turned her attention back to the game, silently breathing a sigh of relief.

And, then,

"I think you and Tai would make a cute couple."

Sora jerked her head at Yolei. "_What_!"

Yolei looked shocked at her dramatic response. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." She shrugged. "Tai's a good-looking guy."

"No, no!" Sora said quickly. "I'm not… I'm not offended. He's just, you know, too much of a friend. I can't… look at him like that…"

With that, she turned to stare at the game, praying her face wasn't as red as it felt.

"You okay?" she heard Matt ask.

"Yeah!" She gave him the brightest smile she could conjure up. "Of course!"

He looked at her as if she were weird, and she kicked herself mentally for acting too excited.

Who got excited over a question like that?

"And Kamiya has the ball! It looks like he's about to shoot! Wait! No, Kamiya passes the ball to Motomiya! And Motomiya—wait! Kamiya has passed out! Kamiya is now just_lying_ there in midfield!"

Gasps and shuffles erupted through the crowd as everybody stood up to get a better view. Sora nearly screamed seeing her friend limp on the ground, while Kari actually did.

"Why isn't anybody helping him?" Kari shrieked.

"Is he dead?" Sora heard some idiot in the back ask.

She turned around to give the general direction a menacing glare. Kari screamed again.

"No, he's up! Kamiya is up! And he—ugh, he appears to be vomiting."

Sora watched in horror as she watched Tai hunched over the side of the field, acidic fluid catapulting out of his mouth.

Through spasms of vomit, he also appeared to be coughing violently. As emergency medics came to his aid, he brushed them aside with a wave of his hand.

"Davis!" Kari shouted to the team below. "Go help my brother! Go help Tai!"

Sora had never heard Kari scream so loudly. In fact, she didn't know she was capable of raising her voice to that level. Tai was the loud one, not her.

Davis looked up at her for a moment before he quickly ran over to Tai's side.

"Motomiya has entered the field, apparently to Kamiya—but Kamiya is up and jogging back to his team! He has apparently refused to be substituted out. Now that's what I call dedication!"

_Stupidity is more like it_, Sora thought angrily, furrowing her brow deeply.

"He'll be all right." Sora turned to see Matt looking at her reassuringly. "He's probably just dehydrated. Don't worry."

Sora still worried.

"Why are they still making him play?" Kari demanded. "He's clearly in no condition to do anything right now!"

"—And that's another goal for Kamiya! He is on fire!"

Sora didn't cheer as loudly as she usually did. Rather, she clapped her hands dully as Tai did a victory lap around the field and his teammates greeted him halfway with celebratory hugs.

"With the score 2-1, it'll take some effort for Tamachi to catch up! It appears Odaiba will finally win a match against the legendary Tamachi FC! Even Ken Ichijouji, Tamachi's star player, looks nervous."

Ken Ichijouji gave the announcer an annoyed look, as if trying to say he wasn't the least bit nervous.

"And Tamachi's Number 7 Ichijouji has the ball once again!"

Sora could almost see the smirk on Ken's face as he sped effortlessly through the field, easily passing the Odaiba players.

"Here comes Motomiya, the only player who has ever stopped Ichijouji in his trac—And Kamiya intercepts! Beautiful play for Odaiba!"

"Ken Ichijouji is so gorgeous," she heard Yolei gush. And, louder, screaming at the field, "GO KEN!"

Everybody on Odaiba's side immediately glared at her.

"Yolei!" Sora hissed, nudging her ribs.

"What?" Yolei said defensively. "It's not like he'll make a goal just because I'm cheering for hi—"

"And Ichijouji successfully manoeuvres through Odaiba's defence and ties the score at 2-2! And at the 89th minute too! A classic move for Tamachi's ace!"

Boos filled Odaiba's side—with one exception.

"Did you see that?" Yolei shrieked excitedly, jumping up and down on the bleachers. "I just helped Ken Ichijouji make a goal! Sora! Kari! I'm basically his lucky charm! YAY! GO KEN!"

Sora and Kari both tried to smile nicely at her, though Sora felt crushed by the sudden tie. She was fairly certain Kari was getting a little nervous as well.

"MARRY MEEEE!"

Beside Sora, she could see Matt's irritation build up as he went from muttering something to TK before giving Yolei an annoyed look when she wasn't looking.

"Don't worry," she said gently. "The game's almost over." A loud buzzer went off in the stadium. "See? There's the buzzer now."

"The referee has extended the time four minutes!" the announcer boomed. "Let's see if anyone will make the golden goal!"

Matt looked at Sora, looking almost alarmed. "No, I'm not—I was just—I'm having a good time."

It was the first time Sora had seen Matt anything less of refined. He had a cool, confident air to him usually, but now he seemed a little flustered.

He gave his younger brother another annoyed glance, and Sora concluded TK must have forced Matt to come. It would explain both their behaviours.

"Look!" TK said suddenly, pointing to the field. "Tai's about to shoot!"

"I don't believe it! Kamiya has made his yet another goal—his third—in the 92nd minute! Even after he vomited and fainted, he makes a goal! That makes the score 3-2 with Odaiba in the lead! Goals made by Odaiba's Number 10 Tai Kamiya in the 61th, 78th and 92nd minutes, while Tamachi's Number 7 Ken Ichijouji made his goals in the 41th and 89th minutes! What a game, what a game. This is arguably the best Kamiya has ever played so his team so far, as he leads Odaiba to victory over the once unstoppable, undefeated Tamachi. And the referee has blown the whistle! It's over! Odaiba wins 3-2!"

Sora looked at Kari, who looked relieved more than anything.

They always waited until the crowd was gone to meet up with Tai and Davis. This gave the boys time to rejoice or grieve with their teammates, while it gave them time to avoid the mad rush of people leaving the stands.

Kari, however, seemed understandably anxious to get down to the field today.

"Hey guys, I think Kari and I are going ahead first," Sora announced, smiling at Kari.

"We'll come too," Matt added.

"No, no," Sora said quickly, glancing at the others to give Matt a clue.

"Did you see? I told Ken to make a goal, and he did! I helped Ken make a goal!" Yolei was blabbing to TK and Izzy, who Sora had forgotten was even here. He had sat at the end of their row the entire time, laptop open.

Matt understood, though he didn't look happy to play babysitter. "All right," he grumbled.

Sora took Kari's hand as she led them through the huge mass of people.

"Thank you," Kari said gratefully, smiling weakly.

Truth be told, Sora too was anxious to see Tai. And perhaps he would notice how great she was if he saw her coming to him before any one of their other friends…

When they reached the field, however, they couldn't spot Tai.

Even odder, Davis didn't run up to Kari.

Sora could see the instant worry cast over Kari's delicate face.

"They probably aren't expecting us so early," Sora said unconvincingly. "There's Davis right there. Let's ask him where Tai is."

Davis was talking to his coach, both with wide grins on their faces.

Kari dashed to him. "Davis!"

"Kari, you're here!" Davis shouted loudly with excitement. And then, more acceptably, "Hey guys."

His coach nodded at her. "Hello there, Kari."

"Is my brother all right?" she asked, almost pleading.

The coach and Davis grinned at each other once again.

"He's perfect," Davis answered.

"'_Perfect'_?" Kari snapped. "Am I the only one who saw him vomit and pass out in the middle of the game? That is not, Davis, the definition of 'perfect!'"

Davis looked taken aback.

Kari put a hand to her mouth, looking surprised herself. "I'm so sorry, Davis. I shouldn't have yelled like that. It's just… when I saw him just _lying_ there…"

Sora put an arm on Kari's shoulder to comfort her.

"What Davis means to say," his coach tried, "is that somebody approached Tai after the game. We think he's being recruited right now, but we can't be sure. It's pretty early in the year, so we didn't think any scouts would be out yet."

Kari looked excited for a second, but then it went away. "Well, is he all right?"

"Yeah, he was probably just dehydrated," Davis said, shrugging. "He seemed all right after he had some water."

Kari looked relieved, placing a hand to her heart. "So he's really being recruited now?"

Sora, on the other hand, hadn't been paying too much attention to the conversation. Instead, she watched Tai, who looked quite serious as he talked to a man in a suit.

She thought she saw that he had seen her from the corner of his eye, which she confirmed when he winked at her as the suited man turned around for a moment.

Her heart raced at the small sign of recognition.

When the man turned around again, he gave Tai something. Tai smiled, said something, nodded, said something else and shook the man's hand before he finally left his side and made his way back to his team.

"It was the University of Tokyo!" he exclaimed as he jogged to Sora, proudly holding a business card in his hand. She was the only one who had seen he had left the scout's side, so he went to her first, greeting her with his boyish smile. She was so excited that she didn't care that he had ninety minutes of dirt, grime and sweat on him and hugged him.

"Congratulations!"

"Eurgh," he said uneasily, pulling away. "Sora, I just threw up."

"Who cares?" she exclaimed, hugging him fiercely once again. "This is fantastic news!"

It was then that everybody else noticed his return.

"Tai!" Kari cried. "Are you all right?"

"It was Tokyo!" Tai announced again. "They came to screen Ichijouji and decided to recruit me instead! They offered me a full scholarship and said I was a shoe-in for a start-up position!"

Everybody on the team exploded to roars of laughter and cheers, running up to their captain for celebratory hugs. Even Davis, a good friend of Ken, jumped on Tai in an expression of amiable love.

Kari screamed, jumping up and down while clasping Sora's hands, looking ready to cry.

Once all the teammates and the coach each got their share of Tai, Kari ran to him again and hugged him. He lifted her off the ground and spun her around the air as she giggled with delight. "Wait until we tell our parents!"

Even though he was only giving her extra affection because Kari was his sister, Sora jealously wished she could switch places with her.

"What's with the commotion?" TK asked as he, Matt, Izzy and Yolei all approached Sora.

"Tai got an offer from Tokyo!" Sora screamed excitedly.

"That's great!" TK said with genuine excitement.

Sora knew TK was one the only one amongst them that knew anything about sport. Matt knew the basics, Izzy essentially avoided sport and Yolei watched only for the boys.

Davis came running up to them, yelling, "Tai got an offer! Tai got an offer!"

Yolei, usually loud, always got unusually quiet around Tai's and Davis's teammates—chiefly because she thought most of them were attractive. She glared at Davis for being so loud.

"_Shh_!" she hissed, much to Davis' chagrin.

Sora was thankful Davis wisely chose not to tell Yolei that Tai had taken Tokyo's coveted spot from Ken. It was common knowledge how much she adored him. Most likely, Davis felt a little guilty himself.

"That's great!" Yolei said sweetly, uncharacteristic of her when speaking to Davis. "We should all celebrate!"

Davis suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Actually, the coach said he'd treat us in honour of Tai. Kari could probably come since she's Tai's sister, but…"

"The rest of us can't," Matt finished calmly.

Davis looked uncomfortable in front of Matt. "No, no! I'm sure it's fine. Let me just ask, and I'm sure…"

Sora stopped Davis by placing a hand to Davis's shoulder, smiling comfortingly. "Don't worry about it. We'll all celebrate together soon—with Ken. It'll be fun."

Davis looked relieved. "Thanks, Sora. We definitely will!"

* * *

As Sora, Matt, Izzy, TK, Kari and Yolei all made their ways back to their respective homes, it was clear the only offended one by the soccer team's rejection was Yolei.

"Well, I wouldn't want to go to their stupid after party anyway!" Yolei announced loudly. "After all, I'm _Ken Ichijouji's_ lucky charm. I couldn't possibly soil myself with _Odaibaplayers_!" She spat the last couple words.

TK and Kari were the only ones who were nice enough to pretend to sympathise with her.

Matt, Izzy and Sora, on the other hand, walked silently behind the three younger ones. The lack of conversation would have been awkward if it weren't for the fact that Yolei was being so loud.

Matt and Izzy were nice people and Sora considered them both as friends, but she enjoyed having a median person around with them. For example, Tai or Mimi made it a lot easier to be with Izzy.

She had initially held the idea that the eight of them—Tai, Matt, Izzy, Joe, Mimi, TK, Kari and herself—would remain the best of friends after the exhilarating months they had spent together in the Digital World. That view was quickly diminished by reality. Once they arrived back in Tokyo, everyone had gone and adapted back to their everyday lives, and it had happened in a blink of an eye.

TK went back to Sangenjaya, where he lived with his mother for another three years before they moved to Odaiba. Joe went back to his studies and now attended the University of Tokyo, about an hour away. Mimi and her family moved to the United States for her father's work. Tai and Izzy, who had gotten to know each other more during their adventures, had remained close, while Sora remained close with Tai and Kari, whom she had known way before their adventures. Matt, who was a lot harder to get to know, and Izzy, with whom she didn't have much in common, were considered valuable friends to her, but, as far as closeness were concerned, she couldn't say it was there.

It was weird. Three years after their adventure, TK and Kari, along with Davis, Yolei and Cody, had gone on a second one. Those five seemed inseparable, but surely the original eight would hold a tighter bond? Even Ken, who had come later and lived in a different city, seemed to be closer to the five than, say, Izzy and Sora were.

"Bye!"

Kari's voice interrupted Sora's thoughts, and she saw that TK and Yolei, who lived in the same flat complex on the opposite side of the district, were now a few metres away.

Sora immediately shouted a goodbye. TK waved appreciatively, though Yolei looked far too engrossed in whatever she was talking about to him.

The next flat complex they reached was Kari's, immediately followed by Sora's.

Matt and Izzy wished her well and she did the same. She noticed an exchange of humour between the two boys as they began the rest of their walk to their respective homes.

They looked comfortable with each other.

_Hm._

Then again, maybe she was just paranoid.

* * *

**Author's Note:** For this story, I needed someone who could serve as Tai's junior. As you can imagine, this trait fit Davis quite well. However, high schools in Japan only last three years, so for the sake of using Davis—who is three years younger than Tai—rather than making up my own character, I'm pretending high schools there last four in this story. I hope everyone will be understanding of this slight discrepancy.

I apologise again that this chapter took so long to post! Read and review, please!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the wonderful and helpful reviews, everyone!

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 3**

The following Monday, the whole school was abuzz about Tai's recruitment. And more specifically amongst the girls sitting beside Sora, how they'd never noticed how handsome he was before.

"Well, _I've_ thought he was hot ever since I first saw him three years ago."

"Oh yeah? Well, _I've_ been in his class since primary school!"

A dreamy sigh. "Did anybody see that amazing goal he made last night?"

"Yeah, he looked so good!"

Sora rolled her eyes.

"All right, pipe down, you lot!" Mr Mizumi snapped. "I'm sure everyone here has heard about Kamiya receiving a scholarship from the University of Tokyo, but, please, we must focus on maths. And let's not inflate Mr Kamiya's already-enormous ego when he walks in—late, most likely—by showering him with prais—"

"I'm not late!" Tai exclaimed as he burst into the classroom, loudly throwing the door open. He beamed at Mr Mizumi and repeated, "I'm not late."

"No, you are not," Mr Mizumi muttered. "That is quite a rarity."

Tai grinned widely. "Ah, come on now, don't exaggerate."

"Tai, come sit over here!" screamed one of his newly recruited fans.

Sora rolled her eyes again. Obviously, Tai would not fall for something so blatantly shallow. Clearly, this girl would not have asked this if he weren't the current talk of the school, and of that he had to be very much aware.

Tai looked the girl once over and analysed her before grinning and waving to her.

Sora frowned. If Tai would chose to sit with this girl, who wasn't _that _much prettier than herself, she would kick his legs so hard he'd never be able to play soccer again.

Thankfully, he only went up to briefly talk to her before he sat beside Sora as usual.

"Look, I did my homework," he announced to her, taking out a few sheets of paper stuffed messily within his maths book. "Want to copy it since I always copy yours?"

Sora smiled, amused by his offer. "No, I did it too."

"Of course you did," Tai agreed, laughing as he tossed the book on his desk. "So, how was your weekend?"

Sora noted the looks of envy from their classmates. They were looks she was quite used to, as she also got them when she talked to Matt alone. However, he was a platonic friend, and she never really paid those girls any attention.

Tai, however, could potentially be a completely different story.

"It was great!" she said a little loudly, resting her chin on her hand as she leaned closer to him. "How was yours?"

Tai shrugged. "I played a lot of soccer."

"That's nice." She pretended to pick out something out of his messy hair, flicking it away to validate their closeness. "You had a little something just there."

"Thanks," he said, giving her a lopsided smile. "I was in a hurry not to be late. I look like a mess, I know."

"You look fine," Sora assured, returning his smile.

The looks continued.

Sora cleared her throat. "So, er, anyway, remember how I told you I'd take you out to dinner if you got an offer?"

She had told herself she would wait until he brought it up first, but the moment was too perfect. She was usually not this type of person, but she had the oddest feeling to prove her genuine bond with Tai to the rest of the class.

Tai looked confused for a second but quickly lit up. "Oh yeah!" He shook his head and chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Sora. I completely forgot about it, so you don't have to do anything like that."

Sora felt a pang of annoyance. She had practically been counting down the minutes for the opportunity to come up, while he had… _forgotten_?

"No, Tai, I promised you I would!" Sora insisted, talking a bit louder in hopes he'd get the idea. "When do you want to go?"

Tai shook his head again. "No, that's stupid. You don't have to take me out."

"Tai, I insist," Sora said lowly, putting a hand to his arm.

Great. Now she looked like she was begging him.

He didn't appear to notice. "I have a better idea. Davis is throwing a party on Friday, so you should just go to that instead. It might not be the finest restaurant in Tokyo, but it's free. Plus, it'll be more fun since everybody else will be there!"

Sora didn't say anything, dumbfounded. Tai seemed to take her lack of reaction as a yes, as he turned away and shot his arm up in the air and announcing, "Mr Mizumi, may I go to the lavatory!"

"Of course you may go, Kamiya. Thank you for asking," Mizumi said monotonously, watching Tai get up and head towards the door before he even had had a chance to finish his sentence.

Once Tai had left, Sora saw some of the same girls from before jeering at her, whispering amongst each other. She couldn't hear everything said very clearly, but she did hear "desperate," "pathetic" and "obvious" come up a few times.

* * *

The rest of the week had gone by uneventfully. Sora had thought with the acceptance of the country's top university, Tai would stop pushing himself so hard. Rather, he did the opposite. Outside of class, Sora didn't see him. During class, they weren't allowed to talk. The only time she could've used to have decent conversation with him was during lunch, but lately he had been skipping it to train too. She was growing increasingly worried, even though Matt had essentially told her that she was overreacting.

But it was now Friday, the day of Davis' party, and she planned to capture his attention tonight—with the help of a certain Mimi Tachikawa, of course.

"Ew! You look like an overstuffed turkey! I hate that colour on you!"

Sora sighed. Mimi could be a little _too_ brutally honest sometimes. She turned around and looked at her computer screen. "_You_ chose this outfit!"

Mimi's digitized lips curved to a smile. "I guess it'd just look better on me then. Anyway, let's try a nice dress or something."

Sora wasn't completely clueless when it came to fashion; Mimi was just better. And, so, they were on video-chat, trying to come up with the most appealing outfit for her to wear to the party.

So far, all Mimi had managed to do was insult every article of clothing in Sora's closet.

"Do people wear dresses to these kind of things?" Sora queried. "I'd feel weird wearing one."

Mimi gave an exaggerated sigh. "Well then, you're perfect for Tai. He seems like the kind of guy who goes for dykish girls."

Sora tried hard not to take any offense.

"Maybe I'll wear one," she compromised.

"You should wear a pink one!" Mimi said happily.

Sora laughed. "Of course you would—"

"No, wait. It'd probably clash with your hair," Mimi interrupted. She gasped loudly. "Oh, my God! Sora! Dye your hair! He'll definitely notice you then! Go blonde!" She gasped again. "You would look so hot blonde!"

"Mimi, I am _not_ going to dye my hair."

Really, what on Earth was she thinking?

"My new boyfriend is blond," Mimi gushed. "Sora, I want you to meet him! He's so beautiful and romantic. The other day, he…"

Mimi would use this time to talk about the boys in her life.

Deciding to ignore her friend for now, she turned around to look into her wardrobe once again.

She had to make Tai notice her tonight. She was not about to let some beautiful, leggy fangirl distract him.

_That_ was the kind of girl Tai usually went for.

"Sora, you should go get this push-up bra I just bought online," Mimi said loudly, interrupting Sora's thoughts. "It works like a charm, and I think you need a little help in that department."

Sora held back the urge to remind her friend that hers were, at the very least, bigger than Mimi's.

"Mimi, can you stop pointing out my flaws and help me look decent?"

"It's your own fault!" Mimi accused. "If you had told me about this earlier this week, we could have gone Internet shopping together. Shipping is really fast nowadays, so you would have gotten it by tonight too."

Sora frowned.

Mimi winced apologetically. "Just kidding, Sora. I'm sure Tai will notice you no matter what. He doesn't seem like he notices clothes a lot anyway."

"I guess…" Sora said, unconvinced. She glanced at the clock on her desk. The party had already started thirty minutes ago. She sighed. "Fine, help me pick out a dress."

* * *

The first thing she noticed when she entered Davis' was the hoard of girls surrounding Tai.

Tai had always been a popular, well-liked student, but she didn't remember him being _this_ loved.

Through them, she could also see a little bit of Tai's face.

He was absolutely _loving_ it.

Figured.

"Kind of weird to see Tai with fangirls instead of Matt, huh?" Yolei said, suddenly beside Sora. She nudged her and glanced at Matt in a corner, who was talking to TK, virtually hidden from the rest of the crowd. "I think Matt's pretty pleased he doesn't have to deal with them."

"That's because Matt's mature, while Tai is a hormonal idiot," Sora grumbled, still watching them.

Yolei giggled. "Though he _does_ look good. He's become hotter since he got the offer, don't you think?" She gasped. "_Sh_! Don't tell Kari! I don't think she likes Tai's new fangirls either."

She gave Yolei a stern look. "I think you and those girls are only interested in him because of his achievement, and not because you're actually seeing him for what he..." She stopped, catching Tai's eye. He smiled and waved slightly, and she felt her face grow hot from the harmless signal. Suddenly feeling quite shy, she returned a sheepish smile and waved back.

To her dismay, he turned to continue talking to his new fans of one day, not bothering to come over to talk to her, his friend of over a decade.

"Er, hello-o?" Yolei said impatiently. "You totally just stopped talking midsentence!"

Sora snapped out of her trance to look at Yolei. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

Yolei frowned, though she waved a hand impatiently. "Nothing important. Anyway, I've got quite the gossip for you."

Sora was, despite the norm for most girls her age, not a huge fan of gossiping. However, Mimi and Yolei were, so she always got her fair share of it from them.

"It's good!" Yolei assured, pulling Sora closer to her. She took a deep breath and whispered lowly in her ear, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Sora said hurriedly. Yolei had a tendency to draw out suspense for long periods of time, even though Sora usually was not on edge but rather just waiting for her to quickly say whatever it is she wanted to say.

"I think TK has a crush on you." Yolei then immediately pulled away and gave her the most excited face she had ever seen, squealing quietly.

Sora, however, went blank.

_TK_?

As in _TK Takaishi_?

As in three-years-younger, see-as-a-brother _TK_?

"TK Takaishi?" Sora said finally, a little too loudly.

"Yeah!" Yolei squealed. "He's been asking about you all night, and he keeps looking up from that corner to the door. He's being so obvious!" She frowned again, sensing Sora's discomfort. "What? TK's a good-looking guy! Is it because he's younger than you? He's really mature for his age! I think he's a good catch!"

"I thought you said he had a thing for Kari."

Yolei rolled her eyes. "Well, clearly, he didn't feel like wasting his time competing with Davis anymore."

"Oh…"

Sora decided at this point to stop believing Yolei. She also had the tendency to make up stories in her mind and carry them out verbally as facts.

Besides, it was TK. She'd known him since he was eight. It'd be too weird.

"Sora?"

Suddenly, in front of them, was said TK Takaishi, and Sora immediately forgot everything she had been thinking about.

"Did you call my name?" he asked.

Yolei grinned madly.

"Oh dear!" she said loudly, leaning towards him. "I am so thirsty! I think I will go get a drink and leave you two alone!" She then nudged Sora, winked and bounced away.

Sora turned pink from the embarrassment. Why was Yolei so—so _obvious_?

TK, however, didn't seem to notice.

"Did you need me?" he asked again. "I heard you say my name."

"Oh, no!" Sora answered quickly. "We were just, er… er…" Rather than dwell, she decided to change the topic. "How are you liking the party?"

He smiled, and all she could see was the eight-year-old boy who had once told her that she reminded him of his mother.

Oh, _why_ had Yolei left them together?

"It's fun," TK said matter-of-factly, looking behind him at the scene. "I just got here though. What about you?"

"Oh, er, I'm having fun too."

TK moved slightly out of the way to let Sora pass him, and she found herself awkwardly switching places with him.

He didn't seem to note her change in demeanour. Rather, he shifted his eyes ever so slightly above her head. The change was so quick she doubted it even happened—not that his wandering eye mattered.

"I think I'll get a drink too," he said, catching eye contact with her again. "You know how it is with Matt. You have to do most of the talking. Exhausts the throat dry."

He flashed her one more smile before he too disappeared into the crowd. He had barely been gone for a second when she felt a tap to her shoulder.

Surprised, she jumped and turned around a little too quickly.

"Matt!" she exclaimed, realising it was the other brother who had appeared beside her. Understandably, he too looked a little shocked. Her reaction had been a little dramatic. "Oh, sorry. I, er… I thought… er… How have you been?"

His lips moved upwards to form a rare smile, it matching almost identically to TK's. Yet, despite the physical similarity, his was a world away.

Most likely, he was smiling because he thought she was stupid. They had seen each other mere hours before. Nothing significant would have happened between that elapsed time.

Oh, except finding out his underage brother had a thing for her while her crush remained brainwashed by fangirls.

"I've been well," he answered anyway, his low voice smooth. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

_No._

"Yeah, this is so much fun!" Sora exclaimed, trying to appear excited. Then, just to add something to the conversation, she borrowed TK's line, "I just got here though."

As she said the last part, Matt commented at the same time, "That's good."

Silence.

"Er, sorry," he said unsurely.

"It's fine."

Silence.

"So, Sora," he began again, his hand nonchalantly touching his perfect hair. "I've been meaning to ask you…"

"What is it?" she asked eagerly, thankful that he was the one attempting conversation for once.

He looked at her solemnly, a trace of uncertainty on his face. "If you have time, I was wondering if you'd let me take you out."

She was still smiling when the reality of the question hit her.

She felt her smile fade.

Matt Ishida was… _asking her out_?

She didn't know how to respond, her mind and body petrified with shock.

Matt Ishida… _liked her_?

She should have been flattered. Matt didn't interest himself in many girls, despite the number that threw themselves at him. Matt was gorgeous. He was mature. He was refined. He was almost too good to be human.

And she… She was just Sora—just Sora. There was no way.

Her heart should have been bursting in delight, her smile wide, her answer laced with eagerness and flattery.

But she was none of those.

Rather, her mind travelled back to Tai Kamiya. Goofy, childish, hilarious Tai. The probability of ever getting him to like her was low—she had been trying for years—but she still wanted to grasp onto the possibility, however small.

That was it then.

Yolei had been wrong. It wasn't TK who was interested in her; it was Matt. TK was merely been doing his brotherly duties and helping him act on his feelings.

But… Tai… Tai was—

"Sora?"

She snapped out of her trance, realising she had left Matt standing there without an answer.

The tinge of worry was still cast over his flawless face.

"It's a no then," he said slowly.

She shook her head. "No, Matt, I—"

"Sora!"

Matt and Sora instantly turned to see the source of the interruption.

Tai was beaming at them, grinning widely as he made his way through the crowd towards them.

She could almost feel the annoyance radiating from Matt, his expression darkening.

"Oh, hey Matt," Tai added as he finally reached them. He stuck a cup in front of Sora. "Here, I got you a drink."

She felt her face flush pink. "Thanks."

"It's spiked."

She grew more reluctant, her fingers stopping mid-air.

"Joking," he quickly added with another grin. She smiled back and took the cup, bringing it to her lips, covertly letting a sigh of relief escape. He looked at Matt. "Sorry, man, didn't get you one."

"It's fine," Matt said rather coldly. "Excuse me."

They watched him move back into the crowd without another word.

Tai rolled his eyes. "What's his problem?" He shook his head, unconcerned, and turned back to her. "I feel like I haven't seen you in so long."

"You saw me today," she pointed out, though she secretly agreed. This entire week, she had felt like too much of a bother to talk to him, since he always looked either deep in thought or too tired to talk.

"Er, yeah. I guess. I just feel like I was being sort of distant."

"Don't worry," she said quickly. "You weren't, but you have every right to be."

"Anyway, I would have talked to you sooner, but Yolei told me I wasn't allowed to talk to you until she did," he said, rolling his eyes again. "Apparently, she has some life-changing news for you."

Sora laughed. "She already told me… It wasn't that important."

"Knew it," he muttered. He fanned himself with a hand. "It's a bit hot in here though. I think I'm going to step outside for a little bit."

She tried to hide her disappointment as she stepped out of the way for him, letting him pass her as he made his way to the door.

"Care to join me?"

He had opened the door, motioning for her to follow. She couldn't help her wide grin as she nodded, ducking under his arm to cross the threshold.

It wasn't that much cooler outside, though there was a slight breeze.

He closed the door softly, as if he didn't want to draw attention to himself.

He then threw his arms over the railing of the flat complex, closing his eyes. Sora stood beside him, leaning against the railing instead.

"I'm exhausted," he admitted, speaking first.

Sora smirked. "From partying?"

"From everything." He smiled at her. "Mostly soccer, I guess. I've never been so sore in my life."

As if to prove his pain, he raised an arm and began to knead his shoulder.

Just as Sora was going to take the opportunity to offer him a massage, he said bitterly, "Yolei told me she knew this fantastic massage that she apparently learned from a professional masseuse. She nearly broke my neck."

Sora winced.

Tai sighed as he got up from his position, choosing instead to mimic Sora's. His arm brushed against hers, and she could feel the butterflies in her flutter a little faster.

She stared at his arm, wishing she could somehow lift it with her eyes and place it over her shoulders.

"I want to leave," he said suddenly, "but it'll hurt Davis' feelings." He closed his eyes, tilting his head back. "Damn him. I thought he meant a small get-together when he told me about this." He pressed his fingers to his eye sockets, blinking hard. "I'm about to pass out."

"You should leave then," Sora said worriedly. "What if you faint again?"

He laughed. "Like at the game? Nah, that was me pushing myself too hard." He looked at her sheepishly. "That was a little embarrassing, wasn't it?"

'Embarrassing'? More like mortifying, but she wasn't going to scold him again. She had done it plenty of times during the week, and she was sure doing it again would only annoy him.

"Tai, if you're tired, you should go home and rest. It isn't good for your system!"

"Yes, Mum," he teased.

She frowned. She _hated_ when he called her that.

"Tai, I'm serious."

He stifled a yawn. "I'm all right."

She got in front of him, making direct eye contact. He smiled in response, and she forced herself not to smile back, however contagious it was.

"Tai, you've been overworking yourself this week. You're making everyone really worried, and it's not only me. Even Mr Mizumi told me to look out for you."

Okay, the last part was a lie, but he didn't have to know that.

"Besides, I can get Kari to distract Davis for the night. She'd do it for you."

He let out a low chuckle, standing up straight from the railing. "Thanks, Sora. You're a great friend."

She beamed, though she wished he had said more.

"Oh, before I go!" Tai said, turning to face her. His expression had changed, and he looked almost… embarrassed?

"What is it?"

He ran his fingers nervously through his hair. "Er…"

"What?" she asked, now anticipating what he would say next. It took a lot to get the confident Tai like this.

He laughed awkwardly. "This is kind of lame, but, erm, you know Kaori Tanaka from the Tennis Club?"

The anticipation went away as her heart dropped.

"Well, I've been talking to her lately, and, er," his eyes shifted upwards, "she promised me she'd come, but she didn't. I've been meaning to ask her for her number, but I kept putting it off since the timing was never right… Since she's your teammate, I was hoping maybe you had it and could give it to me."

Sora felt the deep jut in her stomach sink deeper.

Come to think of it, Kaori had been mentioning him a lot lately. Even earlier today, she had been practically hysterical when she realised during practice that she couldn't make it to Tai's party. She too had asked Sora for his number, but she had lied and said she didn't have her mobile on her. She had merely thought she was one of Tai's freakish fangirls—not a legitimate acquaintance.

"I didn't know you were dating her," Sora said darkly.

"Well, technically, I'd have to take her out on a date in order to classify us as that," Tai said, laughing. "She's really cool. She keeps me company when I practise during lunch. And she's brought me food a couple times."

Sora was livid. Kaori _would_ do something like that.

"We aren't really anything yet."

_'Yet?'_

"So, erm, yeah. Could I bother you for her number?"

Sora kept a hard smile as she dug through her handbag for her mobile. "Of course, Tai. It's no bother at all."

He looked delighted. She wanted to slap the expression off his face and shake the sense back into him.

"Does she talk about me?" he asked carefully, watching as she searched her bag.

"A lot of girls do nowadays. I can't keep track," Sora said sourly. "She might have."

That seemed good enough for him. "She's really great, isn't she?"

"She's really pretty," Sora translated, finally taking out her mobile phone.

Tai feigned shock, holding a hand to his heart. "Sora, I'm offended. I'm not that kind of guy!"

Somehow, she doubted he'd show this much interest if it weren't for Kaori's silky hair, her sultry eyes, her killer body—

Tai Kamiya was a pig, she decided. Perfect for the psychopath that was Kaori.

She brought the screen to Tai's face, not even wanting to read it out loud. He made a quick entry into his own mobile before pocketing it.

"Perfect," he said, satisfied.

"Glad to help," she seethed.

Tai laughed sheepishly. "Er, heh. I'm kind of embarrassed I told you all that. I feel so dumb. I mean, after all… you're a girl too…"

She felt like screaming.

What? Did she _look_ like a boy? Did it really take him eleven years to notice her sex?

Tai was—Tai was—

She held in the urge to strangle him right there.

"I guess it's because you're such a friend to me," he concluded, putting a hand to her shoulder. "I mean, it's not like _we'd_ ever date or anything."

She forced herself to laugh with him, though she settled to look at his shoulder rather than his eyes.

"Well, I better get going," he said, glancing at his watch. "Put in a good word to Kaori for me?"

She gritted her teeth. "Of course. Enjoy the rest of your night."

"Thanks Sora." He placed a hand to her shoulder and gave her a final smile. "You look great tonight, by the way."

It was the one sentence she had been seeking from him since she had arrived, but she found her heart begin to beat faster out of anger rather than infatuation as he turned his heel and walked away.

* * *

She slammed the front door hard, not caring whose attention the sound would capture.

Across the room by the drinks, she saw Matt, talking uninterestedly to a girl Sora had never seen before. She was giggling ferociously as if Matt were the funniest being on Earth, which, Sora knew, he wasn't.

She grew angrier at the sight of her and seethed as she marched over to the two of them.

Matt noticed her first. "Sora."

"Hello Matt," she said sweetly, forcing a tight smile. "I'm _so_ sorry about earlier. I cannot _believe_ Tai would interrupt our conversation like that!" She rolled her eyes, as if to say she thought Tai were the rudest, most immature being on the planet. "I didn't get the chance to tell you that I'd _love_ for you to take me out on a date."

The other girl gasped. Even Matt looked a little surprised.

Sora pretended not to notice either of them. "How's tomorrow?"

* * *

I'm knackered but really felt the need to update… Next chapter should come much faster, as it's shorter.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everyone! This wasn't updated as quickly as I had intended, but hopefully the wait wasn't too long. I've begun responding to reviews with that "Reply to Review" button I have never noticed before. Sorry if I don't respond to yours, but I promise I read and love every single one of them!

Anyway, here it is.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 4**

Matt looked off into the distance as he began his walk home, his mind throwing a million questions at him. Clearly, something had happened in the fifteen or so minutes he had been away from Sora that had made her change her mind about him.

He wasn't stupid.

It wasn't difficult to differentiate the awkward, panicked expression she had given him when he had initially asked her out with the defiant look on her face when she had given him her answer.

He just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

TK had predictably proved to be a rather useless wingman. The only success he had was to convince Yolei it was he himself who liked Sora. If anything, he had managed to get her alone.

He assumed that Yolei had told Sora her incorrect speculation. Perhaps in that elapsed fifteen minutes, Sora had come to realise how wrong her friend had been.

Yes, that must have been it. She had been nervous to answer him because she thought both brothers liked her, and it would be awkward for TK.

But that still didn't explain it.

The look Sora had given him when she came up to him and what's-her-face—it was almost one of anger, definitely frustration. The rare glare she gave to Tai's hand-me-down fangirl—God, that was weird to think—was so insidious, so uncharacteristically Sora.

He knew she had gone outside with Tai…

He must have made her angry then. That was a plausible explanation as well. He often did that. Matt had noticed that their personalities often clashed despite their similarities.

Or maybe…

He furrowed his brow.

No, it couldn't be. There was no way anything was going on between the two of them. He had had enough conversations with Tai to know that he would never go for Sora. He had even told Matt that he liked Sora because she was like a friend rather than a girl.

Then again, he wasn't as close to her. Perhaps Sora liked Tai.

He gave it another moment's thought.

Yes, a one-sided crush could be possible. During the past several weeks that the two ate lunch together, he had noticed she would talk a lot about him. He had figured it was because of their lack of conversable topics, not because she was in any way interested in Tai. After all, she had sounded more like a worried mother than anything else.

Maybe he had rejected her outside—Matt knew Tai would—and, out of mortification, she had agreed to go out on a date with him.

The only flaw in that theory—and it was a big one—was Sora's character once again. She wasn't one to use someone like that, especially him, who he hoped she considered at the very least her friend.

A bitter laugh escaped his lips.

He felt like he was in the twilight zone. Tai was suddenly engulfed by fandom, girls everywhere throwing themselves at him for getting some stupid soccer scholarship. He even managed to rid some girls from Matt. Sora was suddenly acting weird, possibly liking, of all people, Tai Kamiya. He was getting Tai's second-hand fans and his crush's rejection.

And, as horrible as it was to think something like this, he couldn't bring himself to believe that Sora would choose to like _Tai_ over him. Tai was loud, obnoxious, selfish.

He found himself standing in front door of his flat, not having realised he had somehow made it here without ever really paying attention to where he was going.

He frowned as he put the key into the lock.

Equilibrium would return, he was sure. Soon, everything would return to the way it was. Tai's fans would disappear as quickly as they came, the moment someone better would come along. More importantly, Sora's affection for Tai would pass as well. He would make sure of it tomorrow.

* * *

Sorry, it's really short. I just wanted something in his point-of-view, since he'll become more of a central character in later chapters.


	5. Chapter 5

I probably should stop saying this, but I apologise once again for the time it took me to update. I had a really hard time trying to characterise Matt and Sora, which was the main reason it took me so long to complete this. They're hard for me to do, especially Matt, since I can't really remember the series that well anymore.

Anyway, on with the story and thanks for all the lovely reviews!

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 5**

19.55.

In five minutes, Matt would arrive to take Sora out on their date. She sighed, tossing her mobile aside on her desk and throwing open the doors of her wardrobe.

She felt horrible. The guilt she felt for using Matt was almost too much to bear, but there was no way she could back out now.

What would she say?

"_Matt, I can't go out with you. I only agreed because this is my lame attempt at making Tai jealous, not because I have any sort of interest in you outside of our friendship. I'm sorry for being the worst person who has ever lived."_

She groaned in frustration.

Her mobile rang for the umpteenth that day, but Sora let it ring.

Poor Mimi.

She was probably nearing a heart attack by now. Sora knew Mimi wanted to know how their master plan had carried out, but Sora couldn't bear to relive last night's humiliation, especially considering how insensitive Mimi could sometimes be.

She still couldn't believe it. Not only had Tai managed to remain completely oblivious to her possibility as his girlfriend, but he had managed to ask her to be his… his _wingman_.

She laughed bitterly as she yanked the closest jacket off its hanger. She threw it harshly towards her bed, imagining it to be Tai.

It was ironic. She had spent so long getting ready last night for Tai, who probably wouldn't remember whether she wore a dress or trousers, while she was barely spending any time getting ready for a date with Matt, who was probably a lot more perceptive.

She looked at a picture of Tai and her on her desk.

Actually, that was an exaggeration.

It was a picture of their soccer team when they were eleven. Anyway, it was the only picture she could really have of the two of them without Tai walking into her room and thinking she was some sort of obsessive creep.

She had been the only girl on that team, though any sort of ridicule was demolished after she proved to be a powerful forward. Tai, his signature Number 10, and Sora, who had been Number 11, got to take the picture beside each other.

She had another picture with him hanging on her wall. It was a picture of the original eight Digidestined taken last year, though Tai had chosen to stand between his sister and Joe. Mimi had made it a "tradition," as she called it, for them to take a new one annually when she would come back from the United States for their August 1 anniversary.

Right now, however, she didn't want to reminisce on the old days. She wanted to grab a marker and draw angry, childish marks all over his stupid face.

As she was considering it, the doorbell rang, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Even though she wasn't interested in Matt, she was admittedly nervous. It wasn't that he was so great as much as it was that she wouldn't know what to say to him.

This was going to be awkward.

She quickly gathered her things and threw them in her handbag. Mimi was calling once again, but she pressed ignore and quickly walked out of her room to the front door.

Taking a deep breath and placing a smile on her face, she opened it.

As expected, Matt was standing by the threshold, his usual, cool expression in tact. Though she knew he wouldn't wear it, seeing him out of his school uniform was a little surprising. His sense of style was a notch more sophisticated than Tai's usual t-shirt and shorts, and she had to admit he did look as dashing as his hype suggested.

"Hi Matt!" she greeted. "You're early!"

"Actually, I'm on time," he corrected matter-of-factly.

"Oh…" Sora smiled wider and pretended to look at a clock. "You're right!"

He responded with a small smile, probably only doing it to please her.

"Well, I guess we're both punctual then," she added cheerfully when he failed to reply with words. "I'm ready to go when you are."

His eyes shifted above her head before he looked at her again.

"Are your parents home? Shouldn't I talk to them first?" Matt queried.

"Oh, no… They're not." Sora waved a hand towards the flat's interior. "My mum just went out to the grocery store. You can, er, meet her later… if you want…"

He nodded understandingly. "All right. Shall we go then?"

* * *

_Bzzt! Bzzt!_

"Matt, I'm so sorry," Sora said guiltily, her hand reaching to her mobile to press ignore once again.

"It's fine," Matt said coolly, seeming genuinely not to mind.

Mimi had not to have a life based on how many times she had managed to call Sora throughout her date with Matt.

She would have turned off her phone if it weren't for her mother, who had made her promise to keep it on. She didn't necessarily distrust Matt as much as she didn't trust her own daughter. Her mother didn't _actually_ say this aloud to her, but Sora had a hunch.

"You can answer it. Whoever it is seems to really want to get in touch with you."

"Oh, no, it's not important," Sora assured. "So, what was it that you were saying?"

"I wasn't. You were talking about your tennis club?"

"Oh! That's right. Yes, er—oh, I'm sorry…"

Her words drifted as her mobile buzzed again. This time, it indicated an SMS, which she didn't feel as disinclined to check.

_'You haven't been picking up your mobile, so I called Tai and asked him instead. Did all that really happen?'_

She felt her face instantly go white.

"Are you all right?" Matt asked, his eyebrows furrowed with concern. "Are you ill?"

"Yes, I just… I mean no! Er, no, I'm not ill. I just, er, I just need to suddenly use the toilet," Sora improvised lamely, getting up. "Excuse me."

She nearly sprinted to the washroom, and, when she got there, she quickly jabbed in Mimi's number on her mobile and dialled, panicking.

"Sora!" Mimi greeted happily after half a ring.

"You called Tai?" Sora hissed immediately. "Mimi! Why would you do that? Now he knows for certain!"

"Calm down, I wouldn't do that," she replied, though she sounded irritated. "I just wanted you to answer your phone! You've ignored my calls all day!"

Sora felt her heart rate and face colour returning to normal, though her irritation remained constant.

"Mimi, don't scare me like that! I was doing something really important!"

Mimi gasped dramatically. "Oh, my gosh! Is Tai there? Have you guys been together all day? Are you in love yet?"

"No!"

"Well, tell me what happened, Sora! Did that dress I picked out for you work? Did you flirt like I told you to? Was he blown away?"

Sora frowned. "No. He told me I was too much of a friend and basically said he would never date me." She continued speaking normally despite Mimi's horrified squeal. "Anyway, I really do have to go. I'm on a date with Matt, and I don't want to seem any ruder than I already have. I'll call you the moment it's over, Mimi, I promise."

"WHAT? A DATE WITH MATT? MATT ISHIDA?"

"Mimi, I'll call you later!" Sora hissed.

"Fine, fine!" Mimi snapped, sounding even more annoyed. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Okay, Mimi."

"That _includes_ kissing! Never do that on the first date, or it'll make you look—"

"Easy," Sora finished. "I know, Mimi. You've told me a thousand times. But I really do have to go."

"Wait, really quickly!"

"What?"

"Hair, nails, gloss, legs?"

"Yes," Sora lied.

"Breath?"

"Goodbye, Mimi."

She could almost see her friend pouting. "Fine, bye."

Mimi hung up first. Sighing with relief, Sora quickly checked her reflection in the mirror before heading back out again.

* * *

He was irritated at the very least. He swirled his empty cup in his hand, watching the ice cubes move around to pass the seconds.

It was probably Tai, which is why she had been in such a hurry to get up and excuse herself. She would get excited, only to find out he had called her to ask about their homework assignment or something equally as meaningless.

This wasn't going the way he wanted. Sora seemed uninterested, and he too was slowly growing tired of the effort.

"Matt!"

He quickly put his glass back on the table and looked up to see Sora, who seemed a lot more relaxed than she had been two minutes ago.

"Welcome back."

"Sorry. It was my… mum." Sora gave a somewhat dramatic sigh and sat back down in her seat. "You know how mothers are. They're so… motherly."

Matt nodded politely in agreement, though he didn't think she was a very convincing liar.

"Oh!" Sora gasped. "Oh, my gosh. Matt… I…I'm so sorry… I wasn't trying… I wasn't trying to be insensitive. Oh, no… I… Have I offended you?"

He was confused.

He then felt the corners of his lips rise as realisation struck.

"I really didn't…" she continued. "Oh, my gosh, I really didn't mean to… I'm so stupid."

He laughed.

* * *

Sora wanted to punch herself in the face.

Matt probably thought she was a horrible person.

Tai had told her that Matt was sensitive about his parents' divorce, and she had managed to practically rub it in his face.

And, now, he was laughing at her, probably trying to shrug it off when he really thought she was an utter twit—and an insensitive one at that.

"Matt, I'm _so_ sorry," she repeated, feeling her face grow hotter.

His laughter subsided, though his smile stuck.

"Sora, don't worry about it. I didn't even realise why you were so flustered at first. It isn't a big deal."

She was shocked at how at ease he looked.

Not that he never looked at ease, but he had never looked so carefree. His smiles were rare, his laughter rarer.

Actual jovial laughter—she thought she could count the number of incidents in one hand, even as children.

That being said, she couldn't tell if he was laughing at her for being funny or for being stupid.

"So how's TK?" Sora asked to change the topic.

He grinned. "He's with our mum."

Sora found herself frowning on accident.

He laughed again. "I'm sorry. It's funny."

"I'm glad you find my stupidity 'funny.'"

He stopped laughing and smiled. "Actually, I find it rather charming."

She felt her cheeks turn pink again.

"But, yes, TK's fine." His regular demeanour returned as quickly as it had left. "He told me that he's been gaining interest in writing lately..."

* * *

The rest of the night carried on with little mess-ups.

Unexpectedly, she found their conversations to be a lot less awkward than she had expected them to be. They flowed seamlessly, and she found he was a lot more intelligent and interesting than she had originally given him credit for.

In fact, she had just begun enjoying herself when her mother called her to come home.

"Sorry about my mum," Sora said as they neared her flat complex. "She's usually not so overprotective."

"It's understandable."

She smiled. "You know what?"

"Hm?"

"We've known each other for years, and I feel like that's the first real conversation we've ever had."

"I hope I wasn't as boring as I'm sure Tai says I am."

She smiled. Tai had a lot of adjectives for Matt, and she bet "boring" was probably thrown out there once or twice.

"No, definitely not." She sighed. "It makes me wonder how all of us drifted apart in the first place."

"We were only eleven then."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Sora said suddenly. "Mimi wanted me to tell you that you should start responding to her letters. She said you and Izzy are the worst at getting back to her."

Actually, Mimi had specifically mentioned Matt's name. She was annoyed that Izzy responded with emails, but at least he responded, she had said.

"Oh, right…" he said, uninterested.

From the original eight Digidestined, Sora always felt Matt and Mimi were the least close.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it," Sora added helpfully, smiling.

He shrugged with the same disinterest, his focus clearly on something else. He suddenly stopped walking, indicating their arrival. "We're here."

She also stopped beside him and looked at the front of her flat complex. "Thanks for walking me home."

"I'll walk you up," he offered, opening the door for her.

She smiled. "Thanks Ma…" She drifted off as she saw somebody else walking towards them from the distance. "Mum!"

She saw the faintest trace of surprise in Matt's face as he too turned to face the approaching figure.

"Oh, I see I caught you two just as you were coming home," her mother, Toshiko, observed.

"I thought you were just going grocery shopping," Sora said slowly.

"I did. I just stopped to have some tea with friends."

Toshiko unsuccessfully tried not to stare at Matt.

"Oh, right!" Sora said quickly, realising she hadn't done introductions. "This is Matt. You remember him?"

"Yes, of course I do. Hello, Matt." She smiled warmly at him.

He politely bowed. "Nice to see you again, Mrs Takenouchi." He looked at Sora. "I'll see you in school, Sora."

"You can come up for tea," Toshiko suggested.

"I'd love to, but I should be going home," he declined politely. "It's a little late."

"Oh, of course!" Toshiko smiled. "Well, I hope to see you again soon, Matt. It's been years."

"I will." He bowed again before turning to Sora. "See you Monday."

Toshiko watched as he walked off and turned to her daughter once he was out of earshot.

"My, Sora, he sure is handsome!"

As close as she had become with her mother, she still did not feel comfortable talking to her about boys.

"He's just a friend, Mum."

Toshiko seemed to understand her daughter's discomfort, and she changed the subject to the sales she had seen at the supermarket.

Sora smiled to herself as the two made their way to their flat. Sure, he hadn't been her first choice of a date, but she was quite pleased that she had gone out with Matt that night.

* * *

Review, please!


	6. Chapter 6

So, it has been a year and a half, but I've decided to continue this story again. Welcome to all new readers, but mostly I want to apologise to anyone who has actually waited for me to update this. I had the generic outline of this story written as well as most of the future scenes, but I hadn't really divided it into any sort of ordered structure. That's okay though, because I've finally made a polished outline! It feels so weird to have just finished writing the ending then coming back to Chapter 6.

Anyway, thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and comments. I'll try to update this more often!

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 6**

Tai Kamiya was not in a good mood.

His weekend had been nothing short of a disaster. He had been so exhausted during Davis' party that he honestly couldn't remember most of it; Kaori, the girl he thought he could start a relationship with, turned out to be psychotic; Miko, his sister's cat, had managed to claw her way through his homework when his mum had accidentally trapped her in his room for a day. In addition, he hadn't really had time to focus on soccer amidst catching up with sleep, homework, his social life, nearly kicking Miko…

To make things worse, the weatherman warned him of rainfall towards the afternoon, which the gloomy sky confirmed. He wouldn't have minded the rain, but he knew all too well what kind of rainfall it would be: the unbearably humid kind. Hot, sticky, wet weather to play soccer.

_Perfect_, he thought sarcastically.

He entered the classroom, avoided eye contact with everyone and threw his things by his desk before slumping in his chair.

"You look terrible," Sora greeted from beside him.

"Thanks," he muttered, quickly throwing his tie over his neck and tying it as quickly as he could.

"It's—"

"Crooked," he finished for her.

She frowned, trying not to let her perfectionism get the best of her as Tai did little to fix it.

"Bad morning?" she tried.

"Bad weekend," he corrected, tugging his school blazer from his duffel bag. "What about you? How was your weekend?"

"It was okay."

He smelled his blazer before shrugging and flinging it over his shoulders.

"Gross, Tai."

He smiled sheepishly. "It has all my soccer stuff in it, so I was just making sure. Do I smell bad?"

Sora sighed, wishing Tai wouldn't be so comfortable asking her something like that. "No, you smell fine."

"You didn't even smell!" he protested, taking out some sort of bottle from the duffle bag. He grinned to her, holding it up. "Remember this?"

It was cologne that Sora had bought him for his birthday last year. She had put a lot of effort into it, and it took her ages to decide which notes she thought Tai would like.

She noticed that he only ever seemed to use it to cover up his scent after soccer practice.

"Did you talk to Kaori?" she asked, changing the subject.

She knew she shouldn't ask.

She knew she would hate the answer.

But she had to know.

"Yeah, I ran into her on Saturday actually," he said, brightening a little as he tossed the expensive glass bottle haphazardly back in his bag. "I guess I shouldn't have asked you for her number since I got it again over the weekend."

She tried not to frown. "Oh, that's nice."

He smirked. "And then I found out she's crazy. You could have warned me, you know." He sighed. "What a waste. She's so hot too."

Sora accidentally grumbled.

He grinned playfully. "Jealous?"

From the look on his face, she could tell he was joking. Still, she couldn't help the pink tinge creeping up to her cheeks. "No!"

He looked taken aback by her sudden change in tone and laughed nervously.

"I'll have you know, Tai Kamiya, that _I_ went on a date Saturday night too."

He looked at her with curiosity. "Really? Anyone I know?"

"Maybe," she said, pretending to examine her textbook. "Maybe not."

Okay, now she was being annoying, but it killed her how insensitive and dumb Tai was being. She knew he could be oblivious sometimes, but this was way beyond average measure.

He grinned in response. "That means I know him, don't I?" He looked in thought for a moment. "Is he on the soccer team?"

"No."

"Is he in our class?"

"No."

"Is he in our grade?"

"Maybe."

Tai frowned. "Sora, help me out here. If you're trying to get me to guess who he is, you'll have to give me more than that before I lose interest."

"Then lose interest!" Sora snapped, furious at his choice of words.

He looked shocked. He raised his eyebrow and carefully asked, "Are you angry with me?"

"No," she said curtly.

"I was only kidding," he said apologetically, shaking her arm lightly. "I'm interested, I swear!" He closed his eyes, thinking. "Is he on the men's tennis team?"

"No." She turned and looked him in the eye. "It's Matt."

Now he looked confused. "Matt who?"

She frowned. "Matt Ishida!"

Tai's lips fought a smile. "Matt… Ishida?"

"Yes."

He looked a little stunned for a moment, and then, to her horror, he doubled over with laughter.

She turned redder. "What's so funny?"

"Good joke, Sora!" he managed to say between laughs, grabbing his stomach as if he were in pain. "You and Matt? HA HA HA!"

Offended, she gave his arm a firm push. "What's so funny about that, Tai? Are you trying to say I'm not good enough for him?"

He stopped laughing, blinking hard, looking for any trace of a smile on her face. When her expression didn't change, he asked, "Wait, you're serious?"

"Yes. He asked me out at Davis' and I said yes." Her voice was stern. Then, she added for good measure, "And I had the absolute best time with him. I think I really like him."

His confused expression didn't change. "But he's… so… so…" He looked around the room, as if searching for the correct word. "So _Matt_."

"And what does that mean?"

"You're so… unlike him."

"And what does _that_ mean?"

He shrugged, suddenly finding interest in straightening his crooked necktie. "Nothing, I guess."

She frowned. "You're trying to say I'm not good enough, aren't you?"

He stopped fumbling with his tie and gawked at her, stunned. "Sora, what are you talking about? I'm way better friends with you! If anything, I think you're a little too good for h—" He stopped himself and shrugged again. "I don't know. I just can't see it."

"Well, see it. We're going out to eat today after school too."

He frowned.

"Oh… I see…"

He looked… disappointed?

"What?" she asked, concealing her delight.

"Nothing," he said quickly, shaking his head.

"Tell me," she urged. "What is it?"

He chuckled nervously. "Well, I was hoping I could come over and borrow your maths notes—Miko shredded mine—but I wouldn't want to get in the way." He smirked at her. "So you and Matt, huh? I hope it isn't awkward when the three of us are together. Just so you know, I'll probably vomit if I see any sort of affection between you two."

He chuckled again, though seemingly to himself, before continuing to talk to himself about how she and Matt made an unfit couple.

Sora held in her frustration, wondering how on Earth such a clueless person could exist. Even rubbing his rival in his face did nothing.

"…Anyway, are you going to Matt's concert Saturday?"

She had been too busy being annoyed with him that she hadn't listened to what he was saying.

"Pardon?"

"Matt's concert. Saturday," he repeated lazily.

"Oh, I didn't know he was having one," she admitted. "He didn't mention anything to me."

He grinned. "I guess he's saving his personal invitation for you."

"Tai, stop it. It was just a stupid date. It wasn't anything serious." She tried to sound stern, but judging by his unchanged expression, he wasn't taking her seriously.

"Yeah, well, it sounds like a lot of fun," Tai continued. "Too bad I can't go."

"Why not?" she asked curiously. "Have you got other plans?"

In response, he reached into his bag, pulling out an elegant card that was hastily folded down the middle. He flattened the card quickly with his hands, crumpling it more in the process, and set the card down on Sora's desk.

"I have to go to a banquet on Saturday night," he explained. "Apparently, Tokyo has been doing a lot of early recruits this year. It's an informational meeting for all the sport scholars. A bit too fancy for a few high school recruits if you ask me."

Sora scanned the card and pointed out a little too quickly, "It says you can bring a date."

He shrugged. "Isn't that dumb? Why would you bring a date to a sport banquet? Unless the girl was also into sport…" He grinned and playfully nudged Sora's arm. "Want to be my date this Saturday then?"

Why yes, that's exactly what she wanted.

Instead, she smiled too. "Ha ha, yeah right, Tai."

She immediately kicked herself in the head.

He smirked. "Oh, right. You have to go to _Matt's_ concert." He chuckled. "I guess I'll just ask Kari. It's a free dinner."

_ARGH, that's what I should have said!_ Sora thought to herself angrily.

For as much discredit she gave Tai for being so stupid, she had to admit that she wasn't exactly the brightest bulb either—especially when she made mistakes during perfect opporunities like that.

"So, anyway… er, since I can't copy it later today, do you mind if I copy your maths notes now?" Tai asked sheepishly, interrupting her thoughts. "I wrote my own the other day, I swear! It's just that damn cat clawed her grimy little paws into them. You can ask Kari if you don't believe me…"

* * *

She had hardly paid any attention to Mr Mizumi's lecture, too busy formulating her new plan: the "Get Tai to Invite Me to His Banquet Again" plan.

First of all, she would have to get rid of the thought Tai had about her and Matt being an item. She knew it was her own fault for trying to make him jealous when she already knew he wouldn't be, but he was taking it a little too far. He had already chuckled twice during the lecture in their class. The first time was because they had to solve a word problem involving bass guitars. The second time was because he had remembered the problem involving bass guitars.

Secondly, she had to somehow get Kari's schedule full Saturday night. The only friends of Kari she knew were the other Digidestined. TK, her best bet, probably wouldn't do it because Matt was his brother and he wouldn't miss his concert. Kari would somehow slide her way out of Davis' advances. She felt a little bad for Davis, but she had to admit that he could get a little too intense around her. Yolei wouldn't miss Matt's concert for the world because as well as Tai's teammates, Ken Ichijouji and nearly every semi-attractive boy she walked by, she was in love with Matt's bandmates. Kari wouldn't mind going to the concert with her, but she'd prioritise Tai's banquet over it. Cody and Ken didn't attend their school, so Sora had no way to contact them unless she specifically sought them out, which would mean she'd either have to nonchalantly ask somebody for their numbers or just walk by their schools.

By the time the lunch bell rang, she felt like a crazy person.

"Are you going to train again?" Sora asked when she heard shuffling coming from Tai's desk.

"I think so," he answered, quickly clearing the contents of his desk to his bag with a sweep of an arm. He stood up once it was clean. "Bye Sora!"

Sora gave a loud sigh. "Have fun then."

As she expected, he showed mild interest in her exaggerated sigh. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just been a bit boring without you at lunch." She set her lunch bag on her desk. "I have nobody to talk to."

He grinned, chuckling jeeringly. "Go to Matt's room then."

She frowned. "Tai, stop it."

"Maybe I'll go for a little bit too," he thought aloud. "That way I can interrogate him. I have to see that he treats you well, you know."

"Tai, I'm not your sister," she hissed. "Besides, it was just one date. It was nothing serious."

"Fine, I won't say anything. I just want to see how he acts around you. I just can't see him being affectionate is all."

"Tai, you're such a child," she scolded.

"Fine, fine." He sat back down again and opened up his lunch bag. "We can be boring and eat here." He paused and quickly added, "but I'm only staying for ten minutes and then I have to go practise."

She frowned. "Okay, Tai. Just don't choke on your food."

"Sora, I'm not your son," he mocked in the same tone she had used with him moments prior. He changed the subject when she didn't find him funny. "You should go to Matt's once I leave. I'm sure he wants me to not be there so he can ask you to his concert anyway."

She wanted to groan, regretting more and more by the second that she had told Tai about him in the first place. She should have known it would backfire.

"No, I don't think he'll ask me," Sora said as clearly and slowly as she could without him growing suspicious.

"Gross, what is this?" He picked at his food with his chopsticks. "Really? Why not?"

"As I said, we're nothing serious."

"Oh…" he said, seeming to be more interested in his lunch than her.

"So, about Saturday night…"

Then, suddenly, he grinned, his chopsticks stopping midair. "Oh, I get it. I know what you're doing."

Her heart stopped momentarily.

She knew that mischievous grin, and she knew what came after it: teasing. He had figured out that she liked him, and now he was going to call her out in front of their entire class and laugh at her. She knew he was not above doing so.

He leaned in closer to her, much to her surprise, and whispered, "You want me to put in a good word to Matt for you, don't you?"

She didn't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or scream.

He looked pleased with his false realisation.

"Tell you what." He grinned. "Since you helped me out with Kaori, I'll help you out with Matt."

He winked at her.

She frowned, even though she thought his wink was cute.

"No, Tai, I don't want to go with him," she said a little angrily, though Tai was still too busy playing with his food to notice her tone.

"Why not?" he asked, making a sour face as he popped a bite into his mouth.

"He's not my type," she responded. "So, anyway, tell me more about this banquet. It sounds like it'd be a lot of fun."

Tai shrugged. "It's an excuse to see my competition and get free food."

"Yeah, free food is awesome!" Sora said as excitedly as she could. "You're so lucky that you get a free dinner. It's probably going to be a really nice one too. I've always wanted to go to one of those. I bet it'll be so lavish and posh."

"Yeah, probably," he agreed. He sighed. "If anything, it'll be better than the crap my mother makes. Sora, why is my mom the worst housewife on the planet? I swear, I could cook better than this."

As Tai complained about his lunch, Sora tried to think of another way to put his banquet back into the conversation without being obviously desperate.

"Well, you know, at least you can look forward to eating something nice on Satur—"

The latter part of her sentence was drowned out by sudden loud whispers from the students in their class.

"Oh, hello Matt," Mr Mizumi greeted. "What a pleasant surprise."

Tai and Sora looked up to see Matt standing at their doorway.

She glanced over to Tai for a fraction of a second to see his response.

Tai was grinning massively, and he even poked her arm playfully with his elbow.

"Look who decided to stop by," he whispered to her discreetly through a smile. He waved to their friend. "Over here, Matt!"

Sora was horrified. He was the _literally_ the last person she wanted to see, and she forgot to greet him when he greeted her.

Tai cleared his throat and stood up. "Take my seat, Matt. I have to go to the soccer pitch anyway." He turned to Sora and winked again before turning to Matt to say nonchalantly, "Sorry I can't make it to your concert again. See you guys!"

Sora wanted to punch Tai in the face for mentioning anything, and she felt herself panic when Tai left the room.

Now she had to figure out some way to distract Matt so he wouldn't ask her about—

"So, since Tai brought it up, I'm having a concert this Saturday."

_Damn it._

"It's going to be—"

"Wow, Tai sure is dumb," Sora interrupted, trying to change the subject. "He's overexerting himself again. He just doesn't know when to quit, huh?"

She could sense his confusion, but she just stared at the door Tai had left, not wanting to make eye contact.

"He just wants to do his best," Matt said finally. "After he won against Tamachi, a lot of people here expect so much more from him."

"Yeah," Sora agreed lamely.

"After seeing him play that night, I have to admit he's an amazing footballer," Matt added when that was all Sora said.

"Yeah, he is…"

There was an awkward silence, but it was quickly interrupted by a girl in her class who eagerly approached them.

"Hi Sora. Hi Matt," she greeted shyly, clearly more interested in Matt than her. For one thing, Sora had never really talked to her before.

Sora wasn't bothered by it though. She was used to it. Way before the flood of girls who now seemed so interested in Tai, there were the originals who had fawned over Matt.

And, to be honest, she was a little relieved that this girl was going to distract Matt momentarily.

The girl beamed at him, who was surprisingly making an effort to look nice and attentive.

From what Sora could see, Matt usually disregarded anyone he wasn't already friends with.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm really looking forward for your concert," she said timidly.

As bad as she felt for having so many violent thoughts that day, Sora now wanted to kill her. Sure, her intentions were good, but _why_ did she have to bring that up again?

"Thanks," Matt responded warmly. "I hope to see you there."

The girl beamed as she handed him a small package. "They're snacks I packed for lunch, but I'm really full and don't want them. Please take them."

Matt smiled, though Sora couldn't tell whether it was genuine or not. He accepted the biscuits from her classmate and thanked her. She blushed a bright pink before scurrying back to her seat, where her friends seemed as excited as she was.

Sora bit her lip, trying to think of another topic so that Matt wouldn't bring up his concert again.

Matt set the biscuits on Tai's desk and looked to Sora. "Anyway, back to what we were talking about, I hope you don't worry too much about Tai. He's a big boy, and I'm sure he knows what he's doing…"

* * *

Matt closed the door behind him and frowned in disappointment.

Not only had he not been able to ask Sora to come to his concert, but she had actually looked panicked when he had brought it up. He had taken the hint and chosen not to mention it again, so instead they had spent the entire period discussing Tai's health, which in his opinion was perfectly fine.

To make matters worse, Sora suddenly cancelled their after school plans due to having too much homework.

"Yo, Matt!"

From the opposite side of the hall, Tai was jogging towards him.

His uniform wasn't ironed, and his usually bushy hair was flat from the rain, his sweat or both.

What did Sora see in this guy?

"Hey Tai."

He stopped in front of Matt, grinning like a madman.

"How was practice?" Matt started, even though he wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Never mind that," Tai disregarded, still grinning. "I'd rather talk about you."

Matt paused, almost afraid of what Tai would say. Tai had an uncanny ability to push Matt's buttons, and he suspected that Tai rather enjoyed doing it. He knew that Matt was easily embarrassed, and he took advantage of that what seemed like every single day since they were eleven.

"What?" Matt asked suspiciously.

"Come off it," Tai teased. "I know all about you and Sora."

Matt cursed his genes. He knew how much his pale skin clashed horrendously with flushed cheeks.

"What about me and Sora?" Matt asked coolly, trying to look calm.

"That you're madly in love with her," Tai answered, snickering.

Matt grew annoyed that he had practically showered Tai with compliments in front of Sora, when all he really was was an immature child.

"What are you even talking about?"

"You went out with Sora Saturday night, didn't you?" Tai asked, smirking. "You made quite an impression."

Matt wanted to knock the smug smirk off Tai's face, except the last part of what he said piqued his interest.

When Matt didn't respond, Tai continued. "Who would've thought you and Sora, huh? Ha."

Matt didn't respond again, trying to word what to say carefully so that Tai wouldn't make fun of him for it later. His fingers fumbled with the unopened biscuit package that Sora's friend had given him earlier.

He wasn't fond of the particular kind of biscuits she had given him, but he had acted pleased so that Sora wouldn't think he was more unsocial than she already thought he was.

If there was one thing he learned about Sora from their date, it was that Sora thought he was some sort of boring, introverted loner who hated people. It was true to some extent, but he could sense that Sora thought he was more extreme than he actually was.

Tai glanced at Matt's fingers. "Anyway, did you ask her to your concert?"

"Why is that any of your business, Tai?" Matt snapped, sounding meaner than he had planned to.

As expected, Tai grew offended and frowned.

Tai was the kind of person who would shoot a hundred offensive things and then get insulted over one counteract.

"Look, asshole," Tai snapped back. "I'll have you know that I was going to ask Sora to a five-star gourmet banquet, but I didn't so that she could go to your stupid little concert." He crossed his arms. "From your attitude, you either didn't have the courage to ask her or you got rejected. Since there really isn't any reason that she'd reject you, I'm guessing it's the first one. I can see her in about five seconds. I can _gladly_invite her to a once-in-a-lifetime event, unless of course there's some reason she should be available Saturday night."

Matt felt annoyed and apologetic at the same time.

On one hand, Tai was clearly trying to belittle him.

On the other, he was also right and trying to help.

"Well?" Tai asked impatiently.

Matt kicked his pride aside. Tai's threat wasn't a bluff, and there was no way he could just turn around and walk back into Sora's class now.

"I want to ask her out Saturday night," Matt muttered.

Tai's frown was instantly replaced with another smug smirk. "There we go. That wasn't so hard, was is Matty boy?"

Matt glared at him.

"I'll tell you what." Tai stretched out a hand. "Give me that, and I'll put in a good word for you. I'm starving."

"Huh? Oh." Tai was looking at the biscuits in Matt's hand. "Uh, yeah, sure."

Tai opened it immediately and popped one in his mouth.

"I'll see you around," Matt said, putting an arm up to indicate that he was finished with their conversation.

"Bye," Tai agreed.

They walked in opposite directions for a split second before Tai called out to him again.

"You shouldn't be so worried," Tai assured. "From what I can tell, she really likes you too. I think she's just shy."

* * *

To everyone who has read and reviewed this so far, thank you so, so much! I really do love reading and rereading them!


	7. Chapter 7

Hurrah for (relatively) quick updates! Thanks everyone for the incredible messages!

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 7**

"Tai, you promised!" Sora protested, growing annoyed by his lack of commitment to their friendship.

"I did?" he asked airily.

She crossed her arms and glared.

They had a project for their economics class due that Friday, and thanks to Tai's busy schedule, they had yet to start. He had promised her that he'd take off practice today to focus on it, but it seemed that he had once again forgotten.

He smiled and lightly nudged her on the arm with his own. "I'm only kidding. What's more important than school, right?"

She didn't smile back, knowing from his expression that he wasn't finished.

"I just have to go for a _teensy_ bit," he continued, looking at her pleadingly. "It'll be less than an hour, I swear."

"Tai!"

He sank to the floor dramatically and clasped his hands together in a prayer form. A few students turned their way, but he paid them no mind. "Please? Coach will literally kill me if he sees me slacking off. You don't want me to die, do you, Sora?"

To finish it off, he pouted, and as unfitting as it was on him, Sora found it cute.

She sighed. "Fine, but _one hour_. If you go past by one second—"

She jumped in surprise as he suddenly stood up, grinning widely at her. "No, I promise for real this time. Sixty minutes. Nothing more."

She tried not to smile, though his grin was contagious. He sat back in his seat and turned to her, his face brightening as an idea hit him.

"Hey, if you aren't doing anything after school, you should come by and watch us. That way, if I go over my time, you can nag at me in front of my entire team."

Sora probably had more productive things to do. She could go to the library and start on her homework. She could go home and make Tai go there after he was done. She could even do a few tennis drills on the tennis court.

But then she'd miss a chance to watch him play.

"All right then," she agreed, smiling. "Sounds like fun."

* * *

She felt a weird sense of déjà vu as Davis kicked a long shot from the midfield, which Tai caught with his leg before kicking it flawlessly towards the net. The goalkeeper had no time to react, and he scored. He pumped a fist triumphantly as he ran to Davis to thank him for the aid.

It was a combination that she and Tai had always used when they played together.

He was the best their team had even when they were children, and he was still the best now. What had been a hobby for her then had now transformed to Tai's life, the most recognisable thing about him. She still loved the sport, but nowadays she was more interested in watching it than actually playing it.

The soccer coach blew his whistle loudly for what seemed to be no reason, and the players looked at him confusedly.

"Kamiya, it's been an hour!" he barked. Even from the bleachers, Sora could see that he looked less the pleased to make the announcement.

Tai grinned before running out of the field, waving a hand to his mates and then to Sora.

She stood up as well, surprised that an hour had gone by so quickly. She made her way out of the bleachers to where Tai would come out, though when she got there, she realised that he'd probably take a shower before leaving.

Instead, there was another boy, Akita Otokawa, who approached her.

Akita played defence on the team, and he too had been on the same team with Tai and Sora when she used to play. She had to admit that he had been a rather dull kid, though it seemed Tai's influence had rubbed off on him in recent years. She considered him a good friend, though they had drifted apart when she switched over to tennis.

"Hey Akita," she greeted. "Did your coach give you a break?"

He nodded, stopping in front of her. She realised he must have come out of the field to specifically talk to her, since there was nothing around them but the exit. She was happy for the company while she waited for Tai, but she did think it was a little odd that he had gone out of his way to talk to her.

"So Takenouchi," he started, smirking. "What's so important that you had to pull Kamiya out of practice? You two aren't dating, are you?"

Sora felt her face grow hot, taken aback by his sudden question. "What are you talking about, Akita? We have a project to do for class!"

His grin didn't disappear. "Come off it. I knew when I was eleven that you two had a thing for each other."

"Yeah right, Akita," she sneered, but then she told herself to look solemn so he would take her disclaim seriously. "But, really, we aren't anything like that. Tai likes Kaori from the tennis team."

"Kaori Tanaka?" Akita let out a low whistle. "I know her. She's in my class. Yeah, she's really hot. Too bad she plays the lesser sport, but she's still way out of his league, don't you think?"

She rolled her eyes without thinking about it. "Take it from me. I play on the same team as her. She's a nutcase."

"No need to be so jealous just because she's prettier than you," he teased, though she knew he was only kidding. "Anyway, it must be a pretty important project if Kamiya's leaving practice early."

"School's more important than soccer, Akita."

He pretended to be shocked at the revelation, clutching a hand dramatically over his heart, and she smiled. Her reaction seemed to be good enough for him.

"You sure he's not leaving for another reason?" He raised an eyebrow. "Kamiya's _never_ left early before."

Akita's teasing made Sora feel almost… hopeful.

It _was_ uncharacteristic of Tai to do something like this, even if Sora had essentially forced him into doing it. She knew it couldn't possibly be because he liked her—all his signs pointed that he didn't—but the way Akita was talking was almost like he was hinting something to her. After all, they hardly ever talked to each other, and Davis always complained about how their coach never let them rest during practice. Why would he waste a rare break to talk to her?

"I'm sure he just feels more secure since he got the Tokyo offer," Sora assured.

He grinned widely. "That was awesome, wasn't it? We destroyed Tamachi! We're officially number one in the Minato ward now."

"That's good," Sora agreed, glad he had lost focus of his original topic.

"What're you two talking about?" Tai was jogging towards them, his hair damp and a towel around his neck. He looked at Akita. "Aren't you supposed to be at practice?"

"We got a five minute break," he answered before grinning at his teammate. "And we're talking about how you and Sora are dating."

Or maybe he hadn't forgotten.

She hit his arm instinctively, hoping her face wasn't as flushed as it felt. "Akita, I'm serious!"

"Oh, that," Tai said matter-of-factly, throwing an arm over her shoulder. "Come on then, Sora, we have some raunchy economics to take care of, if you know what I mean." He turned to Akita. "Get back to practice, you."

"Yes, Captain," Akita said with a fake salute. "See you around, Takenouchi."

With that, he jogged back to the field, leaving Tai and her alone.

"Don't joke about things like that!" she hissed when he slid his arm off her shoulder. "That's how rumours start, you know."

He grinned and began their walk to his place. "Oh yeah, because you love Matt, right?" He laughed to himself. "I bet he's jealous of me. I'll have to remember to rub it in his face later that I get the honour of doing a class project with you. I can already see his face."

Tai dropped his smile and gave her a brooding, indifferent look. For added effect, he pretended to examine his nails and flicked a lock of his hair aside with his other hand. He lowered his voice to Matt's. "Really, Tai, you act as if I'd care. Don't you know who I am? I'm _Matt Ishida_." He changed his voice back. "Then he'll probably go home and cry about it."

It was certainly exaggerated and not a very good impression of Matt at all, and she found herself frowning at his impersonation. She stopped walking, making him stop too as she crossed her arms unsatisfactorily at him.

He chuckled, tousling his hair with his towel. "All right, don't get so offended. I'll stop making fun of your boyfriend."

Sora stamped her foot. "Ugh, you and Akita are both so childish. It's a wonder how either of you are getting ready to graduate!"

She rolled her eyes and began walking again, a little faster this time to show her displeasure. It didn't seem to faze him, as he easily kept with her pace.

"Speaking of him, I didn't know you two were still friends."

She looked at him, confused. "Who, Akita? Of course we're still friends. Why wouldn't we be?"

He shrugged and smiled. "No reason. I just think it's nice." He chuckled. "Those were good times, huh?"

She smirked too. "Yeah, he used to get so angry that he had to play defence. Now look at him."

"He's the best we've got. Of course, our team is still known for its offence." He pointed a finger proudly at himself.

"Don't try to be modest or anything," Sora said sarcastically, swatting his finger away.

He laughed, and she quickly found herself forgetting that he had just annoyed her.

"How's Davis?" she queried. "He did well today."

He stopped laughing and shrugged. "He's getting better. He just needs a confidence boost."

Tai had told her that he had been worrying about Davis in recent months. Even before Davis had entered their high school, many assumed he would become Tai's successor once Tai would graduate. However, Davis turned out to be an overhyped player that couldn't match the other members in terms of skill. He spent the first part of the season as a barely-used substitute, only playing once it was guaranteed that Odaiba would win. Even then, he played mediocrely at best. Sora had reminded Tai that Davis was only in his first year of high school and would get better, but Tai had told her that it didn't matter. He himself had a start-up position his first year, and he had usually played the entire 90 minutes. Davis, simply put, wasn't good enough, and it was obviously having an impact on his self-confidence. They had even taken away his position as a centre forward and put him in the midfield, where he was still a little awkward. According to Tai, it was the only way he could convince their coach to let Davis play. It was a rare move for Tai to compromise his team's arrangement for the sake of his mentee, and Sora was rather proud of him for his selfless act.

"Maybe you can beam him some of your confidence. Lord knows you've got plenty to share."

Tai smirked smugly at her and quickened his pace. "Come on, Sora. You're like a slug."

* * *

The moment they stepped into his flat, Tai kicked off his shoes, threw his house keys beside them, discarded his school bag and sport bag on the floor as he made his way to his sitting room and threw himself on the couch, stomach first.

Sora looked at his mess but held back the urge to pick up after him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm exhausted," Tai muttered into the couch. "Can't we do this tomorrow?"

"No, Tai!" Sora said sternly. "You already ended practice early today, so we might as well use this time wisely. You can always sleep tonight, and we already are starting a little late anyway. You shouldn't procrastinate so much, you know."

Tai's head shot up to face her, and he stared.

Sora blinked. "What is it?"

"Will you give me a massage?" he asked seriously.

Sora frowned. "You didn't listen to a word I said, did you?"

"I did!" he protested. He made a crestfallen face. "Please?"

"Tai, I'm not your personal masseuse."

He let out a dramatic groan. "Sora, my body hurts in places I can't even say aloud to you."

"Gross, Tai!"

He laughed, resting his head sideways on his arm. "Please?"

Okay, so she really wouldn't mind doing it.

Actually, she was rather excited that he had even asked.

She just didn't want to seem desperate.

She sighed, feigning irritation. "Fine, but only for a minute."

He grinned. "Thanks. I figure you'd know how to give the right kind of massage, since you play tennis and all."

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What do you mean, 'the right kind'?"

"You know, the one for pain," he answered nonchalantly. "Not the one for, er, pleasure."

"Gee, thanks," she said a little too sarcastically.

He smirked. "I didn't want you to think I was hitting on you or anything. I'm sure you're good at giving the pleasure kind too." He put his head back between his arms, indicating he was ready.

Sora scowled at his body.

His uncanny ability to insult her without even trying was almost admirable.

He patted his bottom, his head still buried in his arms. "My butt is your chair."

Sora tried not to blush before getting on top of Tai. She settled for his lower back, knowing Tai had been kidding about sitting on his bum. She decided it was best to hover, not wanting Tai to think she was heavy.

"You can sit down," came his muffled voice.

"I work better like this," she lied. "Er, it lets me concentrate all my strength to my hands."

He gave an affirmative grunt. She drew a breath before pushing her palms hard onto his back, and he let out another grunt.

"Sorry!" she cried immediately.

"No, it felt good," he muttered woozily.

She pressed down a little softer this time.

"No, it felt better the first time," she heard him mumble. His right arm moved from his head area and clumsily tapped around to get a hold of her hand. Once he found it, he used it to press her hand further into his back. "That pressure's good right there."

She was glad couldn't see how pink she was from his touch.

He moved his arm back to its original position.

"T-tell me if I hurt you," she said, horrified that she was stuttering.

He chuckled. "Sora, I doubt you can hurt me that badly."

She frowned. "Don't underestimate me, Tai Kamiya!"

He chuckled again in response, and Sora pressed down as hard as she could, trying to prove a point.

"Yeah, that's perfect," Tai said approvingly.

Sora frowned, not knowing whether he was serious or not.

The next few minutes went by in relative silence, the only background music his cracking back. She cringed a little each time. What had started out as something she was excited to do was quickly turning into something that was once again worrying her. As she pressed more and more into his back, she could feel he had a lot of knots, and the cracking sound was starting to creep her out.

"Don't you stretch before practice?" Sora nagged.

He didn't answer.

"Tai?"

No answer.

"Are you asleep?"

"No," came his groggy reply.

"I can't believe you fell asleep!" she accused, slapping his back. "I'm stopping!"

"Don't stop," he mumbled raspily. "Just a few more minutes."

He wasn't even asking her as much as he was telling her. Tai was far too used to having things go his way.

She heard the doorknob turning. Surprised, she forgot to keep hovering and dropped down on him.

He grunted in pain.

The door opened, revealing his mother and Kari.

Sora analysed her surroundings. Tai, lying on the couch. Her, on top of him. His family, walking in.

"Er, hello," she said a little awkwardly, scrambling off him quickly.

Tai looked up. "Hey Mum. Hey Kari."

He sat up sluggishly, groaning as he took his time to stretch his back.

The two looked surprised at the very least but didn't say anything about it.

"Hello Sora," Mrs Kamiya greeted nicely. "How nice to see you again."

"Hi Sora," echoed Kari.

"Er, we're doing an economics project," Sora explained quickly. "Right, Tai?"

"Oh, I forgot about that," he mumbled, standing up. "Yeah, let's get started."

"Well, I'm going to start dinner," Mrs Kamiya announced. "Sora, will you be staying?"

"Probably," Tai answered for her. "Come on, Sora. We can go to my room."

Mrs Kamiya looked very much against the idea, but once again she didn't say anything to them. "A-all right then. I'll call you both when dinner is ready."

She nervously followed Tai to his room, wondering if she even should.

"Tai, I think your mum thought we were doing something," Sora whispered once Tai had closed the door to his room.

"What?" he asked in his normal voice.

She continued to whisper. "I think your mum thought we were… you know… _doing_ stuff."

He laughed. "Why would she think that?"

"Er, because I was on top of you?"

Tai laughed again. "Don't worry about that. I make Kari do it all the time." He grinned. "You know, you're a lot stronger than she is. I feel like a new man!"

"I think she's uncomfortable with us being in your room together," she continued, annoyed he was still not whispering.

"I don't think so," he said matter-of-factly. His eyes wandered to his closet doors. "Do you mind if I change?"

"Tai, do you always have to not listen?"

"I did listen!" He tugged his school shirt. "I'm uncomfortable."

Sora sighed. "Fine, go ahead."

She had expected him to wait until she at least turned around to take off his shirt, but he did it before she had even completed her sentence, throwing it on his chair before walking to his wardrobe.

She _knew_ she was blushing now, though she had quickly turned her head to his window. She had seen him shirtless countless times, but it felt somewhat wrong now that they were in his room together, his family judging them outside. And while she had enjoyed the brief view, she wished he wouldn't be so comfortable to change in front of her, as if she were one of his soccer mates in the boys' locker room.

"Thanks, by the way. It helped a lot."

"No problem," she said, still looking away. Her eyes flashed by his balcony window, giving her a glance of his bare backside.

She looked down at her knees instead.

She felt stupid that she was getting so flustered while he clearly thought nothing of it.

"Like my shirt?"

She told herself to cool down before she looked up at him—and smiled. "You have great taste."

He was wearing a t-shirt she had given him. She had gone to Kyoto during her spring holiday to visit her dad at his work and bought Tai back a Kyoto Sanga jersey, the team she supported, as a souvenir.

He had been nothing short of mortified. He was an avid FC Tokyo fan.

"I thought I'd wear it once in front of you," he said before lying down on his bed. "So what's this project about again?"

Though Tai wasn't the best student in the world, he wasn't stupid either. And while his procrastinating, let's-just-get-by-with-a-B attitude could irk her sometimes, she did genuinely enjoy being paired up with him.

"We have to make a presentation that summarises how Spain's been affected by the global recession."

Tai groaned. "I hate economics."

She smiled. "I thought it was your best subject."

"So what? I can still hate it," he grumbled.

"Well, _I_ wanted the UK, but you just _had_ to pick Spain, so I hope you realise you're doing most of the work," she teased.

Tai had, of course, based their country on his other favourite soccer club, Real Madrid, rather than the relative easiness of the country.

"Their economy is terrible," Tai said. "How's that for a summary?"

Sora smiled. "It's about fourteen minutes and 58 seconds too short."

"Damn it," he joked, snapping his fingers before setting his laptop on his bed and sitting on the floor beside it. "All right then. I guess I'll ask Google for help."

She sat beside him on the floor, making an effort to sit an appropriate distance away from him in the off chance his mother would walk in.

"Or maybe we can just copy Wikipedia and hope nobody will notice."

"Tai!"

* * *

Sora felt somewhat awkward as she sat at the Kamiya dining table with Tai's family. She had eaten with them plenty of times when she was younger, but it had been a few years.

Not to mention that she was still embarrassed about the earlier incident.

"What a lovely shirt, Tai."

"Thanks, Mum."

Mrs Kamiya had noticed that Tai had changed.

Sora wanted to die.

"So, what have the three of you kids been up to these days?" Mr Kamiya asked, seemingly oblivious. "Anything new?"

"Oh, that reminds me!" Tai exclaimed suddenly.

"Tai, please chew your food before swallowing. You're going to choke."

He ignored his mother and turned to Kari. "Kari, want to be my date for a banquet this Saturday?"

Sora felt the blood drain from her face. She had told herself earlier that day to get Tai to ask her again, but she had forgotten all about it. She mentally hit herself, knowing she had spent the last four hours with him alone with more than enough chances to bring it up.

It wasn't like she could ask now either.

Kari blinked. "Er, what? What banquet?"

Tai shrugged. "It's for the University of Tokyo scholarship. They're doing some huge banquet for all the sport recruits they've gotten so far. It's going to be a lot of good food." He almost sang the last part, trying to convince her.

"Oh, no…" Kari looked crestfallen. "Tai, I'm really sorry, but I already promised Yolei I'd go to Matt's concert with everyone. She'll be so angry with me if I back out…"

Sora was a little surprised. Of all people, she would have _never_ thought his own sister would pick Matt's concert over Tai's banquet. Technically, she was picking a previously promised engagement over Tai's banquet, but still.

"Ah, darn." Tai frowned.

"Why don't you go, Sora?" Kari suggested instead.

She had always liked Kari, but Sora's fondness towards her increased a good 200%. She was such a clever girl with good sense—not to mention the sweetest little thing ever. Sora decided that if she ever met the perfect man, she would pass him along Kari's direction. It was the least she could do for the world's most wonderful—

"Oh, you know," Tai rejected dismissively, crushing her thoughts. "Sora doesn't want to go to that sort of thing."

This was her chance.

"Tai, I'd l—"

"What about you, Mum?" Tai interrupted loudly, looking at his mother. "Maybe they'll say a bunch of stuff you'll be interested in."

Mrs Kamiya brightened. "Really? You wouldn't be embarrassed to take your mum to this sort of thing?"

He looked uncomfortable. "Of course not. It'll be great."

His tone was unconvincing, and he quickly changed the topic back to his father about his day.

Sora tried not to let her disappointment show on her face. Given Tai's sudden awkwardness, it seemed like he had purposely interrupted her at just the right time. It had crossed her mind that maybe he was saving the invitation for somebody else, but he had just picked his _mother_.

The only explanation she could think of was that he specifically didn't want to go with her, and she couldn't help but feel a hurt by the implication. Even if he didn't have a single drop of romantic feelings for her, she couldn't imagine why he would be so against taking her when he had considered his family members.

For the rest of the dinner, he avoided her gaze, but when they went back to his room to finish off their project, he turned back to normal, not mentioning the banquet again.

* * *

"He made you _massage_ him?"

"The pain kind," Sora specified.

"I don't know what the 'pain' kind is," Mimi said excitedly, "but that definitely constitutes as flirting!"

"I don't know," Sora said sceptically. "We do it all the time in tennis too. It's just for tightened muscles."

"So? He probably was trying to brag to you about his body."

"And he changed his shirt. Mimi, I think he noticed that I blushed."

She let out a shrill scream. "He _stripped_ for you?"

"Mimi, I didn't say he—"

"_Tai Kamiya_," Mimi interrupted, her tone playful. "I never knew he was like that—" She stopped herself. "Actually, I take that back. I've always thought he'd grow up to be a bit of a—"

"Mimi, he just changed into a different shirt. It wasn't a big deal."

"Sora, think about it. He's been working out a lot lately, so he probably wants to show off what he's got!" Mimi was speaking quickly and loudly. "That's so like him."

She didn't know why she had called Mimi. She should've known she'd jump into conclusions, but she felt the need the need to rant.

Tai had clearly asked his mother as a last ditch effort, and she couldn't shake off the feeling that he had done it so that he wouldn't have to ask her.

Mimi had quickly dismissed her idea, calling her paranoid. Instead, she was making Sora explain the details of their day together to her for clues.

Still, she couldn't understand it. What was wrong with her that he'd prefer going to a banquet with his mother instead of her?

* * *

He struck his tuning fork against his chair before holding the tool to his ear. He strummed a string and held the tuning fork to his ear again.

"Matt."

Matt didn't need to turn around to know who it was. He sighed loudly to indicate that he was not pleased with the interruption.

"Nice to see you too," came his friend's sarcastic reply.

Matt turned around. "What is it?"

Tai smirked. "What's got your knickers in a bunch?"

Matt ignored the insult. "What're you doing here?"

Tai looked around his practice room, ignoring him as well. "Dang Matt, you sure have a lot of instruments." His eyes fixated on the bass guitar on Matt's lap. "May I?"

To be honest, Matt was a little wary of Tai's clumsiness, but he didn't protest, offering it to him.

"It's out of tune," Matt warned, though he didn't expect Tai to be able to tell the difference.

Tai took it from him and played, surprisingly, a chord.

"That's all I know," he admitted, grinning. "Pretty impressive, huh? This isn't so hard."

"Are you here for music lessons?" Matt asked, knowing he wasn't.

"Can't you just act happy to see me?" Tai asked, feigning a hurt expression as he handed the instrument back to Matt. "Can't a guy just visit his best friend as a form of support?"

"I didn't realise I was your best friend."

"You aren't." Tai set his duffel bag down and began walking around the room, stopping every now and then to examine something. "Everything for your concert going well?"

Matt knew he shouldn't be so suspicious of Tai, but he couldn't help it. Tai _never_ visited him in the music room, and quite frankly he was surprised he even knew where it was. Furthermore, considering that all Tai seemed to be thinking about lately was soccer, he couldn't see any reason for Tai to not be out there on the soccer pitch.

"It's fine…" Matt answered carefully.

"Sorry I can't make it again."

He shrugged. "Happens."

Tai picked up a pair of drumsticks and tapped one lightly against the cymbal of his drummer's drum set, casually asking, "So aren't you going to ask Sora out?"

He knew Tai had to have had an ulterior motive.

"You came all this way to ask me when I'm going to ask Sora out?"

"Just looking out for my best friend."

"You just said I wasn't your best friend."

Tai smirked. "Who said anything about you?"

Matt let the comment pass.

"You know what I had to do for you?" Tai asked, his smirk gone and his voice now laced with irritation.

Matt felt his own irritation build up. He hated when Tai belittled him, and he hated that Tai for some reason felt that Matt needed his help.

"Kari paved the way for me to ask Sora to my banquet in front of her face last night, so I had to ask my mum as a last resort. Now, not only did I look like the biggest jerk on the planet, but I have to go to my first uni function with my _mum_ as my date." He frowned. "So man up and ask her already."

"I'm sorry, but what does that have anything with me?" Matt asked coldly, annoyed that Tai thought he had done him some sort of massive favour. "Whether I ask her today or Saturday afternoon, it doesn't affect you."

"I want to apologise to her, obviously. I looked like a jackass." Tai walked back to him and picked up his duffel bag off the floor. "I told Sora to meet me at To the Herbs in Aqua City at seven tonight, but I can't make it. I had to end practice early yesterday, so I'm putting in a few extra hours today. You should, you know, casually walk on by."

Matt could tell Tai had good intentions, but he couldn't help feel irked. Tai clearly thought Matt was incapable of doing anything himself, but he was wrong. Tai just liked to jump on chances the moment they were given to him without a second's thought. Matt liked to take a second and think things through.

"I don't _need_your help, Tai."

"I'm not saying you _need_ my help, Matt." Tai smirked as he copied Matt's tone. "I'm not trying to hurt your little pride, so don't get so defensive. I'm sure you're very capable of seducing a girl all by yourself."

Matt frowned, watching hatefully as Tai made his way towards the exit.

"I just couldn't help but notice that as far as knowing Sora goes, I've got the upper hand," Tai turned, smiling at him. "We've been friends since we were seven, you know."

He was gloating, and Matt held in the urge to say something smarmy back.

"Anyways, think about it." Tai turned around again. "I can't make it tonight and might accidentally forget to tell her until the last minute. Sora'll just be waiting there all by herself. It's right by where you live anyway."

He left without so much as a goodbye, which was fine with Matt.

Frowning, he sat in his chair again and picked up his guitar again.

Tai was such a tool.

He thought he knew Sora so well, but it was clear that he didn't know her at all. He constantly went to train for soccer in favour of her company, not knowing how much she worried about him. He always made fun of her whenever she did the slightest girly thing, not knowing how much it hurt her feelings and made her feel self-conscious. He was pulling stupid ass acts like this, not knowing how cross Sora would get with him.

…

Not to mention that he was trying to set her and Matt up together, not knowing how much Sora liked him.

What did years matter when the substance wasn't there?

Tai Kamiya, Matt confirmed, was an idiot.

* * *

Sora was livid.

Tai had made the suggestion to get dinner together.

Now, ten minutes after their designated meeting time, he sent her an SMS that simply said, "_Can't make it tonight. Sorry. I'll make it up to you later._"

She wanted to find him and give him a swift hit to the brain.

He was such a jerk.

She let out an audible groan and stood up, seizing her handbag that Mimi had said was the most fashionable thing in her wardrobe—probably because Mimi was the one who had given it to her.

She had even taken some time into her appearance for him, which was now also a wasted effort.

She groaned again and sat back down, trying to decide what to do. Since she had stupidly assumed Tai wouldn't be such a flaky, unreliable, good-for-nothing idiot, she had taken the liberty of ordering his favourite hors d'oeuvre for him. She couldn't just walk out now, but she didn't want to look pathetic eating by herself either.

_Stupid Tai._

If it weren't for him, she wouldn't be in such a predicament.

Fuming, she opened her menu again, deciding she might as well stay here for dinner and spend it thinking about how much she hated him.

She was reading the selections, but she wasn't taking any of the information.

He was _such_ a little…

"Sora?"

She glared at the person who had interrupted her, and her eyes met Matt's.

"Hey," he greeted, unaffected by her glare. "What are you doing here?"

"Eating, obviously," she said shortly, turning back to her menu.

She felt bad for taking her anger out on him, but she really didn't feel like talking to anyone right now.

"Are you all right?" he queried.

She sighed loudly. "I'm _fine_, Matt."

He cleared his throat. "All right then. I guess I'll see you around."

She immediately felt bad. She rarely got like this, and it was unfair to channel her anger at Tai to someone who had nothing to do with it.

"Wait, Matt," she called out, though he hadn't started walking away yet. "I… I'm sorry for acting like a brat." She winced apologetically. "Er, if you haven't had dinner yet, would you like to join me?"

She wasn't quite sure what had made her make the suggestion to him. She supposed it was because she didn't want to eat by herself.

He looked unsure for a moment but smiled immediately afterwards. "Yes, I'd like that."

He sat in the seat across from her, and the waitress immediately came over to his side.

"And what can I get a handsome boy like you?" she asked, winking at him.

Sora couldn't tell whether she was hitting on him or whether she just thought he was a cute schoolboy, but either way she seemed to be fond of him. She hadn't been so quick or nice to Sora anyway.

"Are you ready?" he asked her.

"Er…" She looked at the menu and felt a little bad. She had had it for a good twenty minutes, but she still hadn't decided what she wanted yet. "Er, sorry. No."

"No, it's fine. I'm not ready either," he said hurriedly. He turned to the waitress. "Could I just get a glass of water for now, please?"

The waitress jotted something in her notepad and left.

"She seems to like you," Sora teased.

"Huh? Oh… yeah…" He appeared distracted for a moment and seemed to be looking around for a way to change the topic. He picked up his fork and pointed it to the appetiser in the middle. "May I?"

"Sure. I ordered it for my friend, but my friend couldn't make it," Sora explained irritably. She didn't know why she felt the need to conceal Tai's identity, but she had. "I don't actually like it, so it's yours."

"Oh." Matt nodded knowingly and withdrew his utensil, darkening a little. "I'm sorry your friend couldn't make it. That must have been annoying."

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't important," she said defiantly. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, at least you happened to come by. Were you coming in to get dinner?"

"Oh, er, I was going to get something to-go from the restaurant next door, but I happened to see you sitting here," he answered quickly. "I just dropped in to say hello."

She smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did. Sorry again for being so rude earlier."

Matt shook his head. "No, it's fine."

"No, it isn't. I was annoyed at my friend, and I just took it out on you." She smiled again. "If you hadn't walked by, I would've probably just sat here and ate by myself."

He looked down at his menu. "I'm sure your friend had a good reason for not being able to come."

Tai had cancelled on her for his precious game.

Some reason.

"Anyway, I've heard the pizza here is really good," Sora said, changing the subject. "Do you want to split one?"

* * *

She noted that he was a pretty delicate eater, and she found herself being more wary of how she was eating too—even though it was only just a pizza.

Ever since the waitress had set down their orders, neither had really spoken. Matt had asked her if he liked her food, and then he had told her she had been right about the pizza being good. Other than that, they ate in silence.

She couldn't tell if the silence was uncomfortable or not. Matt didn't seem as anxious as her, and she fought with herself whether she should try to strike up a conversation. They hadn't really seen each other since that Monday, but it wasn't like the two shared any classes together.

She thought back to that day, when she knew he was going to ask her to his concert, and how she had quickly interrupted him in a panic to change the subject.

It was just like what Tai had done to her the night before.

She felt her stomach twist into knots of guilt. She had been too absorbed in stalling for time that day that she hadn't taken into consideration how dejected he must have felt.

God knew how downright horrible it felt for her when Tai had done the same thing.

She felt another stream of guilt. Not only was she insensitive, but she was a hypocrite. There she was, fuming about how much of a jerk Tai was being to her, when she had done the exact same thing to Matt.

_Stupid karma._

"Are you all right?"

Matt had spoken to her, looking concerned.

"Oh, I'm fine!" she said quickly, smiling. She cleared her throat, deciding it was time for her to stop being such a hypocritical jerk towards him. "So, er, how's preparation your concert coming along?"

He looked surprised for the slightest of moments.

She smiled warmly at him. "Everyone's talking about it. That's why I know about it."

"Er, it's not going to be that exciting," he said modestly, looking down sheepishly at his plate. He looked back up at her after a second, and she could see a trace of pink on his handsome face. "I… I hope you can come, Sora. If you can find the time that is. Don't worry about it if you can't. It isn't anything important."

He cleared his throat too.

Sora had _never_ seen this side of Matt before. She knew he could get shy at times, but never like this. He always seemed so cool and collected—so certain of himself.

She actually found it endearing.

"Of course I'll go, Matt. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * *

Phew! This chapter is my longest yet—about twice the length of previous chapters. Thanks to those who actually made it this far!

Notes:

This was partly inspired by my friend Marie, who said to me (several years ago when I had first written the draft for this), "I only know how to give pain massages. I don't know how to do the pleasure kind." And they were the best pain massages ever!

To the Herbs is a real restaurant in Odaiba. I went there a few years ago, and I really liked it.

As always, I'd be most appreciative if you could take the time to review!


	8. Chapter 8

I'm trying to update more frequently, but we'll see how long that lasts. It only took me two days to write this chapter, and then sixteen days to tweak everything. That's why it takes me so long to update even though I've basically written all the chapters out. There's going to be a maximum of 31 chapters, so I need to speed up!

Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers, subscribers and silent readers! I must admit I was a bit gutted that I've only been getting a handful of reviews the past couple chapters, but I got over it once I checked my traffic stats. I feel so humbled and grateful, so thank you everybody so very much!

**Author's Note:** I am admitting now that I never watched the second season of Digimon aside from a few episodes here and there. Therefore, I haven't really got a proper understanding for how the 02 characters are personality-wise. Please excuse any discrepancies in their characters, or feel free to correct me.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 8**

"Thank you! Have a great night!"

Once the last customer had finally left the store, Sora stood up from behind the check-out desk to turn off the neon sign indicating that the shop was still open.

The week had gone by faster than she had expected, and it was now the day of Matt's concert. Tai had apologised to her in person the morning after he had essentially stood her up, and as much as she wanted to stand her ground on how angry she really was, she found that she had forgiven him almost instantly.

As a favour to her mother, she spent most of the day working at her flower shop. Now, she had just enough time to make it to Matt's concert before it began. She wouldn't have time to go home and change, but she supposed smelling of flowers wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Besides, even though her clothes weren't incredible, they weren't awful either. A simple cotton shirt and a sensible skirt. Simple, modest and comfortable. It was just how Sora liked it, though she could imagine that Mimi would probably have a thing or two to say about her outfit.

Once she had finished making the preparations to close the shop and had gathered her belongings, she looked around one more time, just in case there was anything out of place that she should tidy up before leaving.

Her eyes fell to the small sale area. It was for the older flowers that would wilt soon if nobody bought them, and people looking for cheaper bouquets often went to that section.

She nibbled her lip as she walked over the display.

She was sure her mother wouldn't mind if she took just one. She had worked there all day, after all. She looked at the different bouquets, gently shifting through them for one she thought wouldn't get sold. She found one near the edge that was still in bloom but not the most beautiful of arrangements, and she grabbed it.

* * *

It was once she had stepped onto the concert grounds that she wished she had gone home to change. It appeared that every single person at her school had come to watch Matt's concert. He had made it sound like it was some small event, not an all-out festival. And perhaps it was because she always saw her peers in their school uniforms, but for some reason everybody seemed so fashion forward.

Not to mention that she felt a bit silly carrying around a cheap bouquet.

"Sora!"

Sora smiled at the tall, blond boy jogging to her, also smiling as he waved to grab her attention.

"Hi Sora," he greeted again one he stopped in front of her.

"Hey TK. How have you been?"

"Fine. How about yourself?" He was asking out of politeness, but his eyes were fixated on the flowers in her hand. "Those are nice."

"Oh, er, I worked at my mum's flower shop today. I thought I'd bring Matt some flowers to congratulate him for his concert," she explained.

He smiled at her, looking a bit too excited for a gift that wasn't even his. "Really? You should go backstage and look for him. They had to postpone the concert by thirty minutes because of the rain earlier, so you'll have plenty of time."

It then dawned on her that TK thought she had brought these flowers as some sort of romantic gesture, and she severely hoped Matt wouldn't get the wrong idea and think the same.

"Oh, I can just give it to him afterwards," she said dismissively. "I don't want to bother him right before he starts."

"No, it won't be a bother at all!" he insisted. "I can go with you so you can get inside, and then I can walk you to our seats afterwards. I'm sure Matt will really appreciate it." He furrowed his brows slightly. "He's been a little stressed lately."

She wanted to protest again, but she had a soft spot for TK. She had known him since he was so young, and it still surprised her to see how much he had grown in the past seven years. The dependent crybaby had developed into a mature, composed teenager.

She always thought TK and Kari acted beyond their years, and she mostly accredited that to the Digital World. When she had first met TK, he was an energetic, spunky little kid. He had since grown up to be a polite, cheerful boy with a gentle nature. Given his lighter personality, people often thought he was so different from Matt, but Sora recently realised how similar they actually were. They both kept to themselves most of the time, and while TK was friendlier and Matt more authoritative, they shared the same principles and ideals. Like everyone else, she had been really happy for the two brothers when TK and his mother had finally moved to Odaiba.

He was a good boy.

"All right, TK," she agreed finally.

He smiled in a way that mirrored his brother's, and she began to follow him as he manoeuvred through the grounds, leading her around the stage to an entrance on the side.

To her surprise, there was some sort of large guard standing by the backstage door, looking quite unfriendly and unapproachable.

They sure had gone all out for this.

"Hey TK," the guard greeted, though his eyes were on her. "You need to see Matt?"

He nodded, unfazed by the intimidating man in their path. "Yeah, can we go in?"

The guard looked suspiciously at Sora, and she tried not to take offence. She supposed it was his job to keep unknowns like her out. She was glad TK had offered to take her here, because she was sure she'd just turn around and walk right off once she had seen this giant of a man.

"This is a friend of ours," TK explained. "She wants to see him just for a little bit."

The guard nodded before opening the iron door for them.

"You go in first," TK suggested to her, not moving from his spot. "It's the last door on the right. I'm going to talk to him for a while."

She wanted to protest, but TK quickly turned around to make conversation with the guard without waiting for her response.

Defeated, she sighed and walked inside.

TK was once again just doing his brotherly duties, but she really wished he wouldn't. Now she would look even more awkward walking in. By herself. With a bouquet of flowers. For Matt. In front of his band mates.

Sora cursed herself for thinking bringing these would be a good idea. Obviously, he would take it the wrong way. If Tai suddenly walked into class with a bouquet of flowers for her, however dodgy they looked, she knew she'd take it the wrong way. Matt knew that she knew he was interested in her, and now she would look like she was either flirting or playing with him. She was an idiot.

She stopped in front of the door TK had mentioned and felt a surge of anxiety. This was going to be both weird and awkward, and she just knew she would either humiliate Matt, herself or both. It wasn't like she could just walk out either, knowing TK was waiting for her on the other side of the exit.

She drew a breath and held up her fist to knock, but she gasped and jumped back when the door opened at the same time.

"Sora," Matt said in surprise, his eyes widening for a second.

She laughed nervously, embarrassed by her dramatic reaction. "Hi Matt."

He walked out, closing the door behind him. He looked confused. "Er, how'd you get in?"

"Oh, TK let me in," she explained quickly. "Erm, he wanted to talk to your, er… guard, so he told me I should just go in first."

"I see…"

Awkward silence.

"I'm glad you could come," he said finally.

She laughed again. "Er, yeah. Of course." She cleared her throat unnecessarily as she held out the bouquet to him. "I brought you these from my mum's shop. Er, as congratulations for holding a successful concert. I was going to bring them to you afterwards, but TK insisted that I give them to you now. I guess they can be 'good luck' flowers instead."

She watched for his reaction, silently praying that he wouldn't suddenly think that she was in love with him. For now, he was just staring at them.

"Wow, Sora… Thanks." He carefully took the flowers, and she could tell he was trying not to look as pleased as he was. "Really, thank you. It means a lot to me."

She waved a hand sheepishly. "Oh, it isn't anything. I'm sure you've gotten a lot nicer ones than that."

"No, I love them." He smiled to her, and she noticed once again how handsome he truly was. Perhaps it was because she had known him for so long that she often forgot, but she was reminded each time he flashed one of his rare smiles.

"So, yeah! Good luck with your concert! I hope everything goes well." She turned to look at the exit. "I should get going. I'm sure you're really busy, and TK's waiting for me outside."

"Wait, Sora." He looked hesitant, and his eyes shifted from hers to the door before settling back. "Don't go yet. I'm not busy, and TK can wait."

She knew it.

She knew he'd take it the wrong way. What kind of a human being wouldn't? Now she was going to be the awful girl who would reject Matt Ishida thirty minutes before his anticipated concert.

"I've been ready for hours, so I've just been sitting around," he insisted, though he looked uncertain. "I can show you around back here. If you'd like, that is."

He reminded her of herself. The cool, collected Matt was acting so unsure of himself in front of her, the way she acted like a mental little schoolgirl in front of Tai.

She wondered if everybody got like this around the people they liked.

She thought about the situation in reverse. What if she were in Matt's position, and Tai were in hers. She thought of how much of a blow it would be to gather the courage to make a move, and for him to reject her. Matt was braver than she was. He had actually attempted something, whereas she just idly sat by, hoping Tai would one day magically develop feelings for her. She didn't know if Matt felt the same way about her the way she felt about Tai, but she _did_ know that if Tai would reject her the same way she was about to reject Matt, it would crush her.

"You don't have to stay if you're busy," he added when she didn't respond right away.

She shook her head and smiled. "No, I'm not busy at all. I'd love for you to show me around."

* * *

Once she had agreed, Matt returned back to his composed self. In fact, it was quite gratifying to see him in his comfort zone as he showed her around the backstage area, pointing out various spare instruments and machines and explaining their functions to her.

The way that Tai loved soccer, Mimi loved fashion, Joe loved medicine, Izzy loved computers and she loved tennis, Matt loved music. She had known that about him for years, but since he was more reserved than the others, she had never really seen him talk about it aside from the few times he had played the harmonica back in the Digital World.

Come to think of it, she had never heard him play his guitar either. She obviously knew he did, but she couldn't recall a time she had actually heard him perform.

"That's what you play, right?" she asked, pointing to a guitar that was up against the wall.

He glanced over at it before shaking his head. "Actually, I play bass guitar for our band. That's just a regular one, but I can play it too."

She felt stupid for not knowing that much about him, though he didn't appear to be judging her.

"Show me."

He looked a little surprised by her request, but he walked over to pick up the lone instrument anyway. He looked around for a minute before he walked to a stand nearby, brushed away some dust on its counter with the back of his hand and set the bouquet she had given him on top of it.

She felt gratified that he was taking such good care of it, as well as guilty that she hadn't given him a nicer one.

He strummed the strings a few times before picking up a tune, and it took her a second to realise he was playing Happy Birthday.

She laughed.

He smiled too before setting the guitar back down and picking up his bouquet. "I didn't know what you wanted to hear."

"What other instruments can you play?" she asked, curious now.

"A little bit of the drums and piano, but I'm nothing special at either of them," he admitted.

"And harmonica," she reminded him. "Wow, Matt. You're really talented! It must have taken a lot of time and effort to learn how to play all these!"

He looked down sheepishly at his bouquet and muttered something she didn't quite catch.

She wanted to giggle at his modesty. Her two closest friends were Tai and Mimi, and both of them lacked in that department. Tai oozed of overconfident arrogance, while Mimi's favourite pastime was talking about how others paled in comparison to her in almost every aspect of life.

As much as she loved the two of them, Matt's milder demeanour was a refreshing change.

"You know," she started, beginning to walk over to where the grand piano was. "I've always thought the piano was—"

"Watch out." His voice wasn't loud but a little panicked, and he moved forward to take her by the wrist, stopping her before she could take another step.

She stared, and he let go of her quickly, blushing. He pointed to a wooden board that was on the floor, sticking up more than the rest. "There's a hole under there, so we had to cover it with that. It isn't very stable though, so I didn't want you to fall. I didn't mean to grab you like that. Sorry."

"Oh," she said, surprised. "No, it's fine. Thanks for telling me."

For the first time since he had started to show her around, she felt another awkward pause. Sora personally didn't feel awkward by the incident—rather, she was thankful for his warning—but she was becoming awkward because she knew Matt felt awkward.

"Anyway," Matt said, breaking the tension. "You were saying something about the piano?"

This was something else she liked about him. Due to what had just happened, she had forgotten what she had been talking about, but Matt had kept her thought in the back of his mind.

She looked at the instrument again. "It wasn't anything important. I was just saying that I've always really liked the piano."

Again, there was the faintest trace of surprise on his face. "I didn't know you were interested in music."

"Well, not really," she admitted, shrugging. "It's just something I've wanted to learn how to do, but I guess I've always just stuck with sport. It's what I'm good at."

"You could learn." He walked past the hole and sat down in the piano bench. "Piano's easy. Well, the fundamentals are anyway."

She felt unsure whether he wanted her to sit beside him, but she did anyway and grinned confidently. "I know how to play one thing."

"Really?" he asked curiously. "What is it?"

She pressed down two adjacent keys at a time, trying to find the correct two. She wondered if Matt was going to cringe, or if he already was.

She finally found the two she was looking for, and she brought up her left forefinger with her right one and tapped unskilfully at the keyboard.

"Chopsticks," she explained as her finger slipped and hit the wrong note, causing the simple song to get ruined immediately. She winced.

He chuckled a little. Placing his bouquet on his lap, he too placed his fingers over the keys.

He then proceeded to play a much more intricate version of the song.

Sora felt inadequate.

"I could teach you how to play if you want," Matt suggested, not turning to look at her. "I'm no Mozart, but I know the basics."

She paused, not knowing whether to agree or not. On one hand, she _did_ want to learn, but on the other, she didn't want to give him any wrong ideas.

Even if she was finding him a bit charming at the moment**.**

"_Matt_!"

The two turned to see a boy standing by the door. He was around Matt's height with messily styled brown hair, and he looked very much frustrated and out of breath. Sora had never seen him in real life before, though she recognised him from the posters outside.

"What the hell are you doing, Matt?" the boy hissed. "The concert starts in five minutes! We've been looking for you everywhere! I thought you said you were going to the toilet!"

"Yes, well, I was here," Matt said dryly, his personality returning to the one Sora was used to. "I'll be there in a minute."

"We don't _have_ a minute," he insisted. "We go on in _five_ minutes."

"Now I'll be there in a minute and fifteen seconds."

The boy looked even more annoyed, but he got the idea and turned around, slamming the door loudly behind him.

"Sorry. He's our guitarist."

She shook her head. "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have stuck around for as long as I did."

"Don't worry about it. There's no reason for him to get so worked up about it. He's just being dramatic." He stood up and reached out an arm to help her too. "I'll walk you out."

"No, it's fine. Really!" She too stood up and hurried to the door by herself, still feeling guilty that he would now probably get yelled at on her account. "It's just a straight line from here anyway. Good luck, Matt! Thanks for everything!"

With that, she quickly opened the door and stepped out. The guitarist was waiting by the door, impatiently holding his watch to his face. He shot her a dirty look, so she muttered an apology and quickly walked to the exit.

The first thing she noticed when she was outside was the young blond boy sitting against the building, looking very much bored as he fiddled with his hat that he held between his hands.

She had completely forgotten that he had been waiting nearly 25 minutes outside for her.

"I'm so sorry, TK," she said apologetically, walking to him.

He finally noticed that she had come back and stood up, a bright smile in place as he set his now-wrinkled hat back on his head. "No, you didn't take very long at all. Come on, let's go find our seats."

She followed him, thankful that he wasn't going to scold her—not that she expected someone like TK to do anything like that. She was also glad he wasn't asking her what had happened inside, even though nothing had.

TK led her towards the centre of the audience, and soon she recognised their group amongst the rest. Seated in order were Izzy, Ken, Davis, Kari, Yolei, Cody and two empty seats with handbags in them.

"Where were you two?" Yolei asked loudly. "It's just about to start!"

Davis smiled smugly at TK as he walked past. "You were taking too long, so I took your seat. I hope you don't mind."

"It's fine," he said, taking the bags that were in their seats and handing them to the girls. "Your choice, Sora."

She took the seat farthest away so that TK could sit next to Cody. As she situated herself, the lights on the stage dimmed before lighting up again vibrantly.

For the first time since she had heard of the event, Sora found herself actually excited for the concert ahead of her.

* * *

In short, Matt had rendered her speechless.

Not only was he talented with instruments, but she could now confirm that his voice was just as beautiful.

She now understood what all his fans saw in him and his band.

She felt it had been nothing short of an absolute privilege to have been able to listen to them, and she found herself wishing it hadn't ended so soon.

"Wow," Yolei said when the cheering had died down. "They were really good." She leaned back in her seat in order to get a better view of the boy two seats down. "Ken, I bet you're really good with instruments too since you seem to be so good at everything."

Davis rolled his eyes and nudged Ken's arm, who looked burdened by Yolei's claim.

"Er, actually, I'm not any good with music," he admitted.

"Nonsense, I'm sure you're amazing!" Yolei insisted, waving an arm. "You're so modest, Ken!"

Sora smiled. Yolei's shamelessness reminded her of Mimi at times.

Beside her, TK looked up from his mobile. "Hey guys, Matt says he has to clean up backstage, but he'll meet up with us later on."

TK had mentioned earlier that they were having an after-party of sorts at a restaurant nearby, and Sora had originally planned not to attend. She had wanted to stop by the soccer pitch to see if Tai would be there—he probably was—but with the rush of Matt's successful concert, she now found herself pumped to go along with the rest of the group.

"All right, let's go!" Davis said excitedly, standing up again. He reached a hand out to help Kari, but she didn't see him and stood up without taking it.

"Lead the way, TK," she said, smiling at him.

Davis frowned as he withdrew his arm. "You know, it's really crowded here. We should have a buddy system so nobody will get lost. I'll go with Kari!"

At the same time, Yolei cried out, "I'll go with Ken!"

"I'll go with you, Davis," Ken said calmly in unison, though his expression looked troubled as he stared at Davis.

Davis looked from Ken to Kari on either side of him before sighing. "Fine, I'll go with Ken, but Kari has to go with Yolei. Or Cody. Or Izzy or Sora."

"Come on, Davis, it's not that crowded," Kari said nicely. "I'm sure we can all find our way out without getting lost."

TK seemed not to have heard Davis' suggestion altogether and began walking. "Come on, guys, it's this way."

* * *

In the end, Davis' idea of a buddy system was disregarded, and they were now walking to the restaurant as a group. Davis was sure to stand right between Kari and TK, who was leading. Every once in a while, Davis would take apologetic glances back at Ken, who looked troubled as Yolei spoke to him the entire time. Cody walked alongside Ken and Yolei, though he didn't seem to actually be taking a part in their conversation. Then again, neither did Ken. Trailing last were Izzy and herself.

"It's a shame Tai couldn't come," Izzy said once they had each briefly filled each other in on their lives.

"He had a banquet to go to," Sora explained. "For soccer."

"Ah, I see." Izzy nodded. "He sure seems to be spending a lot of time on soccer nowadays."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head though she was smiling. "You're telling me. I'm in the same class as him. It's all I ever hear about!"

"Evidently there's something about how he received that University of Tokyo offer that's causing quite a ruckus. Even the students in my year are talking about him."

"He is good at what he does," she admitted, still shaking her head. "Too bad he's taking it too seriously and killing himself over it. I'm worried for his health."

Izzy, fairly unemotional, suddenly looked quite excited and his expression brightened. "Think about it though. He gets to go to the University of Tokyo! What an incredible opportunity! I'd do anything to be able to go there."

She wondered for a moment if there was a possibility that Izzy could be jealous of Tai. After all, Izzy had always been the genius of their group, a little underappreciated, and it did seem unfair that Tai could get accepted into the nation's most prestigious university without doing any of the work—especially when Izzy was the one who truly deserved to go.

"He's going to have an amazing time there," Izzy continued. "He's going to meet some of the most established scholars in Japan, get taught by the best of the best! Imagine! Learning the newest theories of science by the ones who actually discovered them! Most people don't get that kind of chance, you know."

She laughed. "I don't know, Izzy. Something tells me Tai isn't interested in those kinds of things."

Izzy smiled sheepishly. "Perhaps not…"

"You know, I bet when you get in next year, you and Tai could be flatmates!" she suggested.

She then thought about it some more.

Actually, she doubted the two would make very good flatmates. Tai could get pretty messy, and she was certain his loudness would ruin Izzy's concentration.

"You mean _if_ I get in," Izzy corrected modestly.

"Come on! If Tai was able to get in, you definitely will!" She smiled at him. "Izzy, you're the smartest guy I know. I just know you'll be able to do it!"

He shrugged. "It's an entirely different situation, but thanks for the words of encouragement. Good thing I still have another year to prepare."

"Maybe you should take up soccer," she joked, giggling a little.

He too looked entertained at the thought. "Yeah, let me just go ask Tai's coach tomorrow if I can replace him next year as the team's captain. I may not be able to get as many goals as him, but I bet I could at the very least formulate some strategic plays."

The two shared a small laugh, both finding the thought of Izzy joining Tai's soccer team amusing.

"Here we are."

Izzy and Sora looked up to see that TK had stopped in front of a restaurant. He held the door open, letting each person walk in one by one.

Sora was the last person to enter, and she thanked TK as she walked past. He smiled at her before walking in too, then took the last spot beside her at their reserved table.

"Let's eat!" Davis exclaimed, looking quite content that he had claimed a coveted spot next to Kari. "I'm starving! What do you want, Kari? You know I'll pay for you if you'd like!"

* * *

They had just received their orders when Matt finally walked into the restaurant, and Sora turned a little pink to see that he was still holding onto the flowers she had given him.

Everybody stood up to greet and congratulate him.

"Thanks everyone," he said airily, looking around the table for an empty spot.

"Take my seat, Matt," TK suggested, standing up. "I'll get another chair for myself."

With that, TK left her side. She remembered how he had made an earlier effort to sit next to her, and she wondered if this had all been a part of his plan. Matt smiled at her as he sat down in TK's seat.

"What lovely flowers, Matt," Kari commented.

"Thanks," he said simply, setting them along with his bass case aside as he looked at TK's order in front of him.

"It's yours," TK confirmed as he came back, wedging his chair between Izzy and Cody. "I went ahead and ordered for you."

Matt smiled. "Thanks bro."

TK gave an acknowledging nod.

"Can we eat already?" Davis asked loudly. "I'm about to die here!"

* * *

They were nearing the end of everyone's meals when TK suddenly spoke.

"I heard they have a billiards room here," he announced. He turned to his rival. "Hey Davis, I bet I could beat you."

Davis didn't appear to be interested. "I'm eating. Don't you know it's rude to get up and leave right in the middle of a meal? Talk about bad manners."

"All right then." TK turned to look at Kari instead. "Want to play a game with me, Kari?"

She smiled knowingly and stood up. "Sure, TK. That sounds like fun."

Davis immediately sprang up too. "You're on, TS! Bring it."

Ken looked nervously at Yolei again and stood up too. "I'd like to watch."

Yolei beamed as she followed his move. "Really Ken? I'll watch them play too! Or maybe we can play teams!"

"No way, you probably suck!" Davis accused. He paused. "Actually, I change my mind. You can be on TK's team."

"That's fine," TK said, looking distracted as he looked around the four remaining people that were still seated. "We have an odd number of people. Cody?"

Cody stood up, shrugging. "I guess."

TK's eyes shifted from Matt to Sora to Izzy.

"Er…" He cleared his throat. "Hey Izzy, maybe you can help us with some calculations. Or you can play for me."

"What?" Davis cried. "I thought this was supposed to be you and me!"

TK ignored him. "What do you say, Izzy? I bet you could beat all of us."

Izzy didn't appear interested. "No, I'd rather not. You guys go ahead."

"It'll be fun!" TK insisted, turning his back to Matt and Sora so that she could no longer see his face.

Izzy suddenly flushed and stood up awkwardly. "On second thought, I've always wanted to try playing! It looks like so much fun!"

"Hurry up, TK!" Davis urged, now looking the most pumped up. "I'm going to kill you at this."

"I just want to be on Ken's team!" Yolei insisted loudly.

The group walked away chattering loudly amongst themselves, leaving Matt and Sora alone.

She wasn't stupid.

Obviously, TK had pulled that little act to get the two of them alone. He hadn't so much as asked either of them to join, which was uncharacteristic of him.

She felt awkward.

"Er…" Beside her, Matt had tensed up too. "I'm really sorry about him. I don't know why he did that." He looked flustered. "Let's go play with the others."

"Oh, no, it's fine," she insisted. "You must be really hungry and tired after today. You should eat. Here, try some of mine." She took a piece of uneaten chicken from her plate and put it on Matt's. "It's really good!"

She couldn't read his expression, and then it hit her that perhaps Matt was one of those people who didn't like sharing food or germs.

She flushed. "Er, sorry. That was gross. I shouldn't have just put that there. I haven't really put my mouth on my fork, so it isn't dirty."

He looked even more flustered. "No, I don't care about stuff like that. Thanks…" He glanced at her. "You can try some of mine too."

He cut up a piece of his steak and put it on her plate before silently taking another bite of his meal.

They ate in awkward silence for a few minutes before Sora couldn't take it anymore and spoke up.

"I hope you didn't get in trouble from your band mates."

He looked at her quizzically.

"You know, since I made you late," she reminded him.

"Oh." He shook his head. "No, don't even worry about them."

She winced, not completely believing him.

He suddenly looked like he had realised something, and he reached over to pick up his bass case. "I brought something for you, by the way."

"For me?" she repeated, puzzled.

"It's nothing great," he warned quickly, opening a compartment in the front of the case and taking a thin square object out. "I was really thankful for your flowers, and I felt bad that I didn't have anything to give you in return."

Her eyes widened. "No, Matt! Those were just to congratulate you. You don't have to give me anything back for them!"

He smiled a little. "Don't worry. Like I said, it's nothing spectacular." He put the object on the table between them, and she saw that it was a CD case. "It's our CD."

She blushed as she took the case, flattered. "Wow, Matt. Thank you so much." She examined the front and back. "No autograph? I want to brag to all my friends when you become rich and famous that_the_ Matt Ishida once gave me his CD personally."

"Well, if that ever happens, hopefully you and I won't have lost touch."

He had said it lightly, though she could also sense the seriousness in his voice. She felt the colour rise to her cheeks again, her heart beating a little faster at his gesture. Matt really was a great guy, and she was glad that she had gotten to know him a little better lately. From the pleasant date they had shared to how he had shown her around his backstage area earlier that night, she was enjoying his company and being able to see him for who he really was.

She was even finding it a little cute now how shy he got.

"I hope so too."

He smiled and carefully weaved one hand through his perfectly styled hair.

"By the way, I never got a chance to ask you the other night," he said slowly. "The night that we went out for dinner, I mean."

She drew a breath, preparing herself. "What is it?"

"I had a really great time that night."

She felt her heart beat a little faster once more. "Me too, Matt."

He looked into her eyes, and she noticed how blue they were. She wondered how many other girls had fallen victim to them before her.

"I'd really like if you'd let me take you out again."

She smiled as she watched his ears turn pink, and her heart continued its rapid thumping, urging her to answer.

"Yes, of course. I'd love to."

He looked a mixture of relieved and something else, and it was when he gave her another one of his hauntingly beautiful smiles that the reality of the situation hit her.

She had thought her heart would stop beating so fiercely once she answered his question, but she found it beat even harder against her chest.

She blinked, and Tai's image popped into her mind. It was only for a split second, but it left an imprint. Her mind was suddenly flooded by her memories with him, from the time he had saved her from Datamon to the time she had first read his email cutely signed with a heart to the time he had bought her ice cream just a couple weeks ago.

Matt was perfect, and she was stupid to not jump on this chance, but he wasn't the one she wanted.

She then felt panic sweep through her, realising what she had just done.

She had just said yes to Matt Ishida, but she had meant to say no.

"When's a good time for you?" he asked.

"Er, Monday," she said randomly, not able to think clearly as she opened her bag to take out her purse so she could pay. "Matt, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I suddenly remembered that I promised my mum I'd be home early tonight, and I'm sure she's very worried."

He looked confused. "Are you sure? Do you want me to walk you? It's already dark and—"

"No!" she denied quickly, standing up. "You should stay and hang out with everyone. I-I'll see you at school."

She ran out before he had a chance to question her, though she did hear him say bye around the time she had reached the door.

Her heart was still beating as she left the restaurant, and she hit herself on the side of her head once she knew nobody could see.

"Stupid!" she hissed at herself.

She had temporarily fallen for Matt's charms like every other girl who crossed his path, and now he would think she liked him for certain.

She angrily criticised herself for several blocks until she reached a crossroad. One led to her flat complex, while the other would take her to the soccer pitch by the park.

She let out an audible whinge.

_Why_ was she such an idiot?

The pedestrian light turned green, and she crossed.

* * *

Tai knew he would be in trouble once he went home. He had come straight to the soccer pitch in the park following the banquet, not even bothering to stop by his home to change. His formal dress shoes were filthy from the loamy dirt of the field, as well as the bottom of his slacks. His shirt was damp from his sweat.

He didn't care though, and he continued to run from goal post to goal post. It was once he had arrived here that he realised he hadn't even brought a ball, so instead he was working on his stamina.

The banquet had been quite a wakeup call for him. He met a lot of incredible players from around Japan, and once he compared their statistics to his own, he realised how much of a competition this truly was. Getting the scholarship offer was the first step, but he needed more than just that. There were other players who were bigger, faster, more accurate and just all around better than he was. Being the best at Odaiba meant nothing if he wasn't the best everywhere else. After all, this wasn't about playing against a bunch of high schools anymore. It was a chance to play for Japan's most prestigious university. It was a chance to get recognised and perhaps earn a coveted call from the professional league.

Coach, his teammates, his family, his schoolmates—they all thought Tai was some sort of blessing sent to their school to make a name for them. Sometimes, people would jokingly ask for his autograph, telling him that they'd sell it once he became a famous footballer. Sometimes, those people weren't fully joking and really did make him sign some scrap piece of paper. Everybody expected him to become something big, whether it was in university or professionally.

As horrible as he felt for thinking this, he didn't want to become Davis. Davis, the middle school's star who was hyped to be something special, turned out to be very ordinary and mediocre when he entered high school.

He imagined for a second what it would be like to come back a year later, having never played a single match for the university because there were others who were better than him. Knowing that people he loved, people he hated and everyone in between would be watching the University of Tokyo's games and see him just sitting on the bench, watching from the side-lines.

He couldn't have that. He wouldn't.

He quickened his pace further, pushing himself.

He had to get better.

After a while, he felt a familiar pain return as his body urged him to stop, but he paid it no mind.

He had met another striker today who had bragged to him that he had never missed a penalty kick. Tai's rate was high, but it certainly wasn't perfect.

He had also met a versatile defender who ran an average 12 kilometres a match. Tai was fast, but he couldn't run that in just 90 minutes—and he certainly couldn't make it a regular thing.

There was even a keeper who claimed never to have conceded a goal.

The last two weren't even rivals as far as his position was concerned, but he was the striker. He was supposed to be better than both of them, and he wasn't.

He stopped running when he caught sight of somebody walking along the street. The figure was a familiar one, and he already had a guess of who it was.

"Sora?" he called out.

She gave a slight wave as a confirmation and began to walk down from the street to the park.

It was once he had stopped running that he realised he had started to shiver. He already knew it was from a mixture of overexertion and dehydration, but he also knew it would give Sora the perfect opportunity to nag at him.

He began to jog in place to conceal it, and he waved again to Sora once she stepped onto the pitch.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was just walking by, and I thought I'd see if you were around." She smiled back at him. "Mind if I watch?"

"Sure, but I'm not doing much." He grinned. "How was Matt's concert?"

Tai wasn't very curious aside from whether Matt had manned up and made a move yet, but he decided not to start off their conversation by annoying her.

"It was fine…" She looked distracted for a second and frowned. "Tai, you seriously couldn't take one second to go home and change? Your clothes are spoiled!"

"I was too lazy," he said dismissively. "So did Matt treat you right? Did he try anything?"

She frowned again. "Why are you interrogating me, Tai? I'm not Kari."

"Of course you aren't," Tai said matter-of-factly, smirking. "I'd never allow Kari to go anywhere with Matt by herself."

"We _weren't_ by ourselves." She narrowed her eyes, watching him suspiciously as he continued to run in place. She then reached out and grabbed his forearm, bringing it up to her face so that she could see it up close. He stopped. "Tai, you're shaking!"

He stopped and sighed. "I'm fine, Sora."

"It's not even cold out! Why are you shivering?"

He knew she was just worrying about him, but sometimes he wished she wouldn't sound so much like his mum. In fact, he was fairly certain his mum trusted him more than she did.

"I just need to drink something," he said casually.

"Are you insane? How long have you been running around without drinking anything?"

"Don't worry about me." He withdrew his arm and smiled again. "So tell me more about Matt's concert. How'd it go? How was Matt?"

"Who cares about that right now?" She grabbed him by his hand and began pulling him. "You're done here, Tai. You're coming with me."

He knew it would only take a light tug to overrule her, but he let her drag him away anyway. Protesting would only cause her to nag more, which would eventually lead him to get aggravated—which, given time, would escalate into an all-out fight between them.

He wasn't necessarily in the mood for that.

He let her pull him to a dodgy red tent just outside the gates of a park. It was a yakai tent, and while they were too young to drink, it was a good—albeit slightly dirty—place to grab late-night food when everywhere else had closed.

"This is romantic," Tai noted sarcastically, but she didn't laugh.

"Well, obviously, I can't take you anywhere else when you look like _that_," she said accusingly.

He looked down at himself and remembered that he had all but completely ruined his clothes. He laughed sheepishly as he ducked inside, a bit embarrassed by his current state. "Oh yeah…"

It was reasonably crowded being a Saturday night, and from what he could see, the two of them were the only students there.

He chose to sit in one of the cheap plastic tables off to the side, and Sora immediately ordered them a pitcher of water.

"I'll buy," she insisted. "Get anything you want."

"I just came from a banquet," he reminded her. "I'm dehydrated, not hungry."

She frowned, and he could tell she didn't believe him. "Well, we can't just come in here, drink water and leave!"

Tai wanted to argue that adults were always saying how teenagers these days were so rude and shameless, and that he was sure the owner of the tent thought the same and wouldn't be too offended, but instead he looked up at the large, messily written menu hanging near the front of the tent. He squinted, trying to look for something that wouldn't completely destroy his diet. They had handed everyone a card detailing what foods they should and shouldn't eat at the banquet tonight, once again reiterating to him that he wasn't allowed to eat whatever he wanted.

He had given the card to his mother to take home, but it had more or less the exact same restrictions Coach had given him a few months earlier.

"Let's eat ramen!" Sora suggested. "They always taste the best here."

"I'm not allowed to eat ramen."

She shot him a look.

"I know, I'm sorry," he said quickly. "It's not like that stuff is good for you anyway."

"Well, _I'm_ getting one," she said defiantly.

He once again scanned the choices and settled for a chicken and baked potato dish. Protein and carbohydrates. Perfect.

Once the owner had gone with their orders, he poured himself a large glass of the water from the carafe and nearly drank the whole thing in a single gulp.

It tasted like heaven.

He poured another and downed it the same.

"That's what you get for not hydrating yourself again."

He smirked. "Yeah, stupid me."

She frowned disapprovingly at his attitude. "I'm serious, Tai. You're pushing yourself too hard again. I'm sure you don't need me to remind you how you fainted last time—"

"Stop bringing that up," he interrupted, bothered that she always did. "That happened once."

She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow, just like his mum did whenever he had done something bad. "Maybe so, but according to Akita, that wasn't the first time you threw up."

Damn him.

"It happens."

She grew wide-eyed.

"Actually, Akita never told me anything, but I had a hunch so thanks for admitting that to me. Now I know for certain that you're an idiot!"

He felt his irritation rise up again, though it wasn't necessarily because she had tricked him. Everyone—from Coach to Kari to all those superior players at the banquet—was giving him a hard time, intentional or not. He didn't need Sora to be added to that list.

"I do sport too!" she reminded him. "I know this isn't good for you, and I know you know it too. So why are you doing it, Tai?"

He closed his eyes and took a breath, trying to force himself not to say something he knew he'd regret. He had always been the type of person who spoke without thinking, but lately he was trying to work on it. That, and the fact that he really just couldn't be bothered to try and get Sora to understand him. It was true that she too was an athlete, but tennis didn't mean the same thing to her the way soccer meant to him.

He opened his eyes. "I know it isn't good for me, but it won't kill me either." He smiled again to lighten the mood. "Come on, Sora. Let's change the subject."

She frowned, and he knew she wasn't satisfied with his answer. She knew him well, and she knew that he wasn't the type of person to change subjects. He argued his opinion until the other person either gave up or walked away.

Her frown faded and she sighed dejectedly. "Fine Tai. What do you want to talk about?"

He chuckled lowly.

"How about your boyfriend's concert?"

He knew he was being childish, but he couldn't help it. Sora… and _Matt_… It was too funny to let go.

A shadow of frustration was cast on her face. "He's not my boyfriend, Tai! But it was very fun, and they were very good."

"Did anything happen between you two?"

Her cheeks darkened, and he tried not to smile at her shyness.

"No! Tai, stop being weird! I'm serious."

He couldn't help himself, and he laughed again. "All right, all right. I'll try my best."

"And how was your banquet?" she asked, still looking rather flustered.

"It was all ri—oh, right!" he interrupted himself loudly, suddenly remembering something. "I wanted to tell you something about that."

"What is it?"

He smirked, leaning back in his seat. "First of all, I'm sorry that I didn't invite you to the banquet that night you were at my house. I nearly died when Kari brought that up."

She looked confused.

"You see, I wanted to invite you, but I knew Matt's concert was on the same night." He grinned cheekily. "I didn't want you to feel like you had to go with me since I'm better friends with you, so that's why I had to ask my mum. You know, there were actually a surprising number of parents there. It wasn't as embarrassing as I thought it'd be."

She was still not replying, so he continued.

"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that so you wouldn't think I was a complete jerk for blowing you off like that." He chuckled and leaned against the table so that he was closer to her. "So tell me he at least asked you out again. I'll kill him if he didn't."

She closed her eyes and took a breath in the same fashion he had just a few moments earlier.

When she opened her eyes, she spoke slowly through gritted teeth. "I would have much preferred to have gone to your banquet over Matt's concert, Tai. I'm so much closer to you than I am with him, and you know I'm more interested in soccer than music."

He tried not to sigh, feeling somewhat impatient that Sora was so clueless and Matt so shy.

Sora had always been there for him, and this was the least he could do for her—even if it meant he would have to glorify Matt.

"Sora," he started carefully, and he tried to form what to say next carefully in his head so as not to offend her. He looked at her intently with knit brows, trying to look as concerned and serious as possible.

"You're like a sister to me."

* * *

Each word felt like a slap to the face, and she felt her entire body burn red from anger.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to strangle him. She wanted to blurt out every single thing she was thinking so that Tai would feel like a piece of dirt. She even wanted to cry a little.

He had slowly been building up her aggravation that night, from the time she saw shaking out of fatigue to when he had admitted that he vomited often from it too.

But the latest thing he had said was by far the worst, even if it was the least troubling as far as physical health was concerned.

"_You're like a sister to me."_

Her heart was throbbing so hard that it made her head hurt, but she didn't say anything. She didn't know what would come out if she did.

"I want what's best for you the same way I feel for Kari," he continued. He looked uncertain, but his tone was one of the most serious she had heard coming from him in a long time. "You should really give Matt a chance. Not to sound like I'm in love with him or anything, but he's a really good catch."

She felt her anger rise up more.

She didn't need Tai to tell her that.

She already knew Matt was a good catch.

Any girl in the world would agree with her.

What she needed Tai to do was stop being such a clueless, insensitive, thick douchebag.

"I know it's none of my business, but I know he really likes you. Matt is—"

She couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to sit around and listen to him a second longer. She slammed her hands against the plastic table and stood up. Her glass of water toppled over, as well as her chair.

"You—you idiot!" she yelled, not caring that everybody in the tent was now looking at the two teenagers. "You don't know anything, Tai! You're such a jerk!"

He looked confused, then alarmed. "Sora, what—"

She wondered if she should do something more dramatic, but instead she just seized her handbag.

"Have a wonderful night," she said curtly before running outside and leaving him by himself.

She began running, not wanting Tai to come after her. Surprisingly, he did not. She wondered for a minute whether it was because he thought she was being bratty, but then it hit her that it was probably because he couldn't leave without paying for their orders. She had already eaten and wasn't hungry at all, but she had offered to buy because she was scared that Tai needed the sustenance. However, she had left in such a fury that the thought of her needing to pay hadn't even crossed her mind.

She didn't care though. She didn't care about him. He could go right back to the soccer pitch and run until he died for all she cared. In fact, as horrible as it was, she secretly hoped he would.

She felt herself think words she never thought before, but they all essentially meant the same thing: Tai was the world's biggest jerk.

She thought about her night. How she had left poor Matt back at the restaurant by himself, probably puzzled out of his mind, so that she could go off to Tai and let him ruin everything. She knew that when she would think back to this night in the future, all she would think about was how much she hated Tai and not how much she had enjoyed her time at Matt's concert with her friends.

The idiot.

She stopped running and started taking harsh, fuming steps instead. She wanted to call Mimi to vent but didn't know if she could string audible words together. She swung her handbag furiously at a lamppost before thinking about the contents inside and regretting it. She didn't open it, knowing that if anything had broken or shattered, it would only make her angrier.

She let out a frustrated groan and kneeled down beside the lamppost instead, not caring that passerbys probably thought she was insane.

Stupid Tai.

She didn't understand it. How was it possible that she could like Tai _this_ much, while he never so much as blinked an eye in her direction?

She looked up at the Daikanransha big wheel. It always reminded her of him, since he had such a beautiful view of it from his flat—

No.

She wasn't going to think about him. She wasn't going to let stupid memories get in the way that she was angry with him. She always let him get off easy. Whenever he annoyed her or did something dumb, all he would have to do is grin his cheeky little grin, and she would forget all about it.

Not this time though. He had taken it a step too far this time.

Although, Daikanransha did look very beautiful at night…

She stood up with her eyes still fixed on it, but they lowered to focus on the young man between her and the wheel, walking with a bouquet of flowers in his hand and a guitar case strung over his back.

It was Matt, and he was just one street away—probably walking home too.

She wondered if she should call out for him, cross the road and "accidentally" run into him or pretend not to have seen him altogether.

Sora didn't consider herself a superstitious person, but perhaps this was a sign from the universe. The universe wanted her to be with Matt, and that's why he had just popped up amongst hundreds of thousands of other people in Odaiba—practically right in front of her. It was as if it was trying to guide her in the right direction.

"Matt!" she called out, but he didn't hear her.

She quickly crossed the street, and she was thankful that he had been strolling quite slowly as she stepped in front of him.

"Matt," she said again, a little out of breath.

He looked surprised, and she noticed for the first time that he had a pair of headphones on. He hastily took them off, letting them dangle by his neck.

"Sora," he said with mild surprise. "I thought you'd already be home."

"Oh…" She looked around as she tried to come up with an excuse. "Well, you see, it turned out that I forgot my house keys at my mum's flower shop, so I had to go back there to pick them up."

It was a lame excuse, and she was sure Matt would see right through it, but it didn't matter.

"Oh," he said carefully, looking a bit sceptical. "Are you going home now?"

"Yeah," she answered. "Are you?"

He nodded in response. "We're going the same way. I can walk you back."

She gave him a forced smile, hoping it looked more convincing than it felt. "I'd like that."

They began to walk again, and she could feel him watching her from the corner of his eye. She pretended not to notice.

"Are you all right? You seem a little—" He stopped himself when she turned to look at him. "Er, never mind."

It hit Sora that she still must have looked as annoyed as she felt, and she tried to fix her expression to a more neutral one.

"Did you have a nice time at the after-party?" she asked nicely. "Who won the billiards game?"

"Yeah, it was fun. And TK's team did."

Based on the way he spoke, she couldn't tell if he actually thought it had been any fun or if he really cared that his brother had won.

"I was thinking…" he continued, changing the subject. "I'm really thankful that you came to my concert tonight."

She smiled, wondering how many times he would tell her that. "I'm really thankful that you invited me."

He smiled a little too but it faded quickly. "I want to repay you somehow."

"Oh, no! Don't feel that way, Matt!" She waved her hands in front of her to emphasise her point. "You already gave me your CD, which was more than enough, and besides that's what friends are for!"

She thought about how she had swung her handbag at that lamppost, and she hoped that even if everything else had shattered, his CD would at least be in one piece. She'd feel terrible if she had broken his gift barely an hour after she had received it.

"Right," he said distractedly, more to acknowledge that she had spoken rather than to agree with her. "Anyway, I realised that I've been to TK's basketball tournaments and Tai's soccer games, but I've never gone to one of your tennis matches before. You've never asked us."

She flushed a little, flattered. "Er, well, they're not quite as interesting."

"Well, I'd like to go," he affirmed. "It's the least I can do, and I think they'd be really interesting."

Her cheeks turned even pinker. "Okay, I'll let you know when my next match is…"

He nodded contently and gave her a smile, and they walked most of the way to her flat complex in silence. It wasn't awkward though—just nice.

She liked that he let her keep her privacy. Obviously, he had sensed that she wasn't in the best of moods, but he wasn't prying. She thought about Tai, who probably would have wrestled it out of her. She couldn't tell if he was being quiet just because it was his personality or whether he didn't want to bother her when she was irritated, but she wouldn't put it past him to be sensitive enough to do it for the latter reason. Tai would have joked around, which, depending on how irritated she actually was, would make her change for the better or worse.

Furthermore, Matt had just asked to see her play tennis. She couldn't help but feel touched by the gesture. She had never invited her friends before because tennis wasn't as huge of a sport as soccer was, and in turn nobody had ever asked to go watch her. She had once made the casual suggestion to Tai, but he had declined in favour of his training. She never once brought it up again.

Her eyes fell to the bouquet in his hand, and she thought about how much the simple thing had pleased him. They weren't even all that pretty or smelled all that wonderful, and she had just grabbed it at the last second so that she wouldn't go to the concert empty-handed. She had yet to see him really lose sight of it, except for when he had been performing. She thought back to when she had bought Tai cologne. She had spent ages collecting the money, researching reviews online and asking random passerbys how they felt about the scent before she had bought the perfect one. He had given her a generic thank you and a generic hug before deciding it was perfect to use after his soccer practices. She believed his exact words had been "for when I smell like shit."

Most importantly, Matt genuinely seemed to want to spend time with her, even at the cost of his own priorities. It was because of her that he had been late today, and she was sure his band mates hadn't just let something like that slide by. She also knew he had a general disinterest in sport, but he was willing to go watch her play the one she loved. Lately, she was beginning to feel that Tai just felt obligated to spend time with her because they were friends, but secretly he thought of her as a distraction.

She smiled sheepishly when they reached her flat complex. "Thanks for walking me home."

"It was no problem." He smiled too. "Good night, Sora."

"Good night."

She felt her heart start beating once again as she walked up to her door, but this time it wasn't out of panic or anger.

She turned around again and looked down to where he stood. "I'm really looking forward to our date Monday night."

He looked a little confused before his lips twitched to another smile. "Yeah. Me too, Sora."

She smiled brightly as she stepped indoors, and she bit her bottom lip excitedly.

For once, she hadn't just said it to him to be nice. She was genuinely looking forward to it.

* * *

This was originally supposed to be two separate chapters, but I decided last minute to merge them together due to the lack of Tai in the first half. I apologise for the obnoxious length (26.5 pages!) and will try not to make them so long in the future.

As an unrelated side note, I randomly decided to look up the top five Digimon pairings here on this site. I only inputted the more well-known ones from all the seasons, so there's a chance that there may be a random one that is higher. Starting with the most popular, they are Takari, Taito, Taiora, Mimato, Sorato. Yay for Taiora beating Sorato! Taito and Mimato kind of caught me off guard, since I wasn't expecting them to be so popular, but Taiora and especially Takari were to be expected.


	9. Chapter 9

Since the past two chapters have been ridiculously long, this one is a little shorter. I hope you'll enjoy it!

**Author's Note:** Once again, I am warning you that I've never watched the second season, so the 02 characters may very possibly be OOC, especially Davis, who is really the only one of them who really matters in this story. I apologise.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 9**

He had called her the day before, but she had ignored him and never called him back.

So he had come to school a little bit earlier today to apologise in person, but she had come in a split second before the bell rang and shushed him when he had tried to talk to her over their professor.

In all honesty, he couldn't understand why Sora was so angry with him, and it wasn't helping that she was refusing to say anything about it.

Even during lunch period, she had sprung up and left for Matt's room without so much of a word. With annoying little tantrums like that, it was progressively getting harder and harder for him to feel apologetic.

As the bell indicating the end of the school day rang, Sora once again got up quicker than usual.

"Wait, Sora," he called out, trying to sound as nice as possible.

She promptly ignored him, picking up her belongings and already beginning to walk off.

"Wait," he said again, a little more aggressively as he too stood up and took her by the wrist. "Sora, hold on a second and let me talk to you."

She sighed tiredly as she turned around, pulling her arm from his grip and giving him a bored look.

"Don't you have to go play soccer, Tai?"

"Yes, but I can take a moment to talk to you," he shot back irritably, annoyed by her stony tone.

Rolling her eyes, she let out a short, sour laugh. "Well, aren't I just the luckiest girl in the world? Tai Kamiya is taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to me."

"What are you even talking about?" he muttered under his breath.

He decided to let her rudeness slide, knowing it was just a by-product of her anger.

He had played what had happened in the tent repeatedly in his head, trying to figure out what had caused her to go so mental on him. He finally decided it was because he had stuck his nose where it hadn't belonged, and she was being dramatic that he was trying to butt in on her personal life.

Never mind that she was always butting into his.

"Look Sora, I'm sorry if I offended you the other day. I crossed the line."

He kept his apology generic, just in case he had guessed wrong and she was upset about something else.

"It's fine, Tai. Really, it was no big deal. I'm sorry too." She looked at him dully. "Is that all? I have somewhere to be."

"…Yeah, that's all," he said dejectedly, not knowing what else to say. It wasn't like he could force her to sit down and tell him what was wrong when she was acting like this.

"Bye then."

He stood there, somewhat stunned by her aloofness, watching blankly as she turned her heel and walked out without so much as another word.

'_That Sora Takenouchi, I swear_,' he thought bitterly in his head.

Before his anger could properly escalate, a friend of his came up to him from behind, giving him a light shove on his shoulder. "Saw that. Nice one, Kamiya. Real smooth. Got her just where you want, huh?"

He shot him a dirty look before picking up his own belongings.

It didn't matter. He had more important things to do than worry about why Sora was acting like a brat.

* * *

He took a deep breath as their substitute goalkeeper blocked another goal, and he reminded himself to stay reassuring even though his insides were nearly bursting with frustration.

"Tai, I'm so sorry," Davis said quickly, turning to him. "I'm really sorry."

"No, it's fine, Davis," Tai assured.

Davis winced, looking down at his feet. "I suck."

"No, it's fine," he repeated, placing a hand on Davis' shoulder. "You just need a little more practice. It'll come to you."

Tai had been trying to give Davis extra lessons on the side to help him eventually regain his original position as a centre forward, but at this rate, it was just never going to happen.

Currently, Tai was teaching Davis the importance of being able to utilise both his left and right feet when trying to score a goal. Davis, right-handed like Tai, was still sloppy when it came to his left foot.

Davis' confidence had reached an all-time low, and Tai even allowed himself to wonder if Davis would consider quitting the team the following year. Still, he couldn't really see the boy doing something as extreme as that—not to mention that Tai would probably kill him if he tried.

"Just… practise a little more," Tai suggested lamely as their coach blew his whistle to indicate that warm-up was over.

Davis nodded dully before he followed him to the sidelines where their coach was waiting impatiently for everyone to gather.

"We're going to work on penalty kicks, so get in line," Coach ordered. The players quickly shuffled to form a jagged line along the sideline. "Kamiya, you're first. Show them how it's done."

Tai jogged to the field, and he waited for their goalkeeper to prepare himself before he shot the ball. It scored easily, and he gave a confident smirk.

"Do you see how he curved the ball? That's what you want to do," Coach explained in his loud, booming voice. "You want to aim for a spot the goalkeeper can't reach, like the corners. Don't shoot it right where he can block it. Confuse him. This is elementary. Motomiya, go."

Davis looked a little unsure of himself as he walked to the field, so Tai gave him a reassuring smile as he walked back.

Davis hopped back and forth on each foot before he hit the ball with his right. He had aimed for the corner as well, and the goalkeeper couldn't jump quite far enough to grab it.

"All right!" Tai said loudly, though he shut up when Coach gave him an unappreciative look. Coach hated unmerited praise.

"That was good, Motomiya."

Davis beamed as he came back to the sideline. "Thanks Coach."

"Great job," Tai added.

"Thanks." Davis was still smiling brightly, clearly pleased, as if he had with that goal proven his worth.

"Motomiya did well," Coach said lowly once another player had gone in for his turn. He spoke so that only Tai could hear him.

"I told you," Tai insisted proudly. "He's good."

The thing about Davis was that he wasn't actually a bad player. He was pretty skilled and the only year 10 pupil in their starting line-up. It was just that he had just gone from being the best to not-the-best, and it was that blow that made him play worse.

"I know he is," Coach agreed. He lowered his voice even more. "Don't become like him in uni, Kamiya. I want you to be a start-up striker, Number 10 until you retire."

Tai didn't say anything back, simply watching as the goalkeeper once again failed to block a shot.

Davis reminded him a lot of himself. A little more rash and maybe a little more submissive, but anybody could tell that the two had a lot in common.

Maybe it was due to that fact that Tai wanted the best for him, and why he was willing to take Davis under his wing in a way he didn't with his other juniors. He wanted Davis to succeed, and perhaps in turn it would be reassuring to him that he too wouldn't become like him—that he too wouldn't get tucked away, forgotten with the rest of the squad in university or beyond if he could make it. Tai was used to being the star, the ace of the team. He wouldn't settle for anything less.

"This is boring," Akita muttered beside him, nudging his arm.

Tai smirked and opened his mouth to say something.

"'Boring'?" boomed Coach, who had overheard. "Otokawa, you're up!"

"B-but I'm defence!" Akita protested, but he was already walking into the field, knowing his excuse wouldn't mean a thing.

A few of the boys snickered, and Tai could see Akita muttering under his breath. He kicked the ball, and although Tai could commend him on the sheer power of the shot, the goalkeeper was still able to block it with his knee.

Akita cursed aloud and was immediately sent to run five laps.

"I'll run too," Tai suggested to Coach, who didn't appear to care either way. Tai was essentially allowed to do whatever he wanted as long as it helped him get better. Running unnecessary laps fell into that category.

Tai began to jog alongside his friend.

"Don't say it," Akita warned irritably. "I'm not in the mood."

He laughed. "You're an idiot."

"Yeah, says you." Akita then smirked, his crossness evidently subsided. "By the way, Takenouchi told me you're interested in Kaori. She's in my class."

Tai frowned, a little annoyed that Sora had said anything at all. "I'm not interested in her."

"Why not? She's really hot."

"She's okay."

Akita suddenly slowed his pace, his grin growing wider. "Oh, I get it." Tai looked over to his friend, who began to shake his head in feigned sympathy. "She rejected you, huh? Sucks, mate."

Even though it wasn't true, it hit a nerve.

"I'll race you," Tai challenged, changing the subject and speeding up. "Loser has to run five more."

* * *

Tai smirked smugly as he watched Akita struggle to finish his tenth lap around the field.

The little bugger deserved it—not to mention that he could use the practice.

Coach hadn't seemed to mind and did nothing to stop the boys' bet. In fact, he had only barked at Akita to run faster because he was now missing a key defence player.

"I—haa—hate you—haa—you—haa—jackass," Akita wheezed when he had finished.

"Coach'll make you run more if he hears you're still cursing," Tai warned with a smile.

"Jackass," Akita hissed again before jogging sluggishly to where the rest of the defence players were.

Tai laughed silently before taking another gulp of his drink and turning to face the other attackers.

"All right, let's go, team!"

* * *

Tai decided that despite what people were saying, his added training was definitely paying off.

While the rest of his teammates groaned in pain and overall looked relieved that their training session was finally over, Tai felt like he could go all night long.

"Coming?" Davis asked tiredly, picking up his water bottle. His hair was flattened from his sweat, his breathing erratic.

"No, you go ahead. I'm going to run around a little more."

Davis looked unsure for a minute, looking longingly in the direction of the locker room for a second but not moving towards it. "Want me to stay? I can if you want me to."

Tai shook his head. "That's all right. I'll only be here for a little bit."

The answer seemed to be good enough for Davis, and he walked off to the showers. Any desire to stay was surely overpowered by exhaustion.

Tai hummed off-key as he practised by himself, feeling somewhat lonely in the dark, quiet field. He ran repeatedly from one side of the field to the next, did some new exercises he learned at the Tokyo banquet, practised his kicking. He did everything he could think of for another hour before his head began spinning, his heart pumping somewhat unsteadily, his stomach turning upside down, his mouth watering bitterly. His entire face grew hot, and he knew what was coming up next.

He made his way to the far corner of the field to the rubbish bin. He threw his head over the opening, trying to take deep breaths.

One of the current squad members for the University of Tokyo that he had met at the banquet had told him that once he got used to the feeling of wanting to vomit, he'd learn how to control it.

For Tai right now, however, the experience was still new, and he hated it.

He dry heaved once, coughed several times, dry heaved again and then felt strangely better. He stood up again, wiping his mouth with his arm before tapping his chest with his fist a few times, his breathing short.

He groaned and decided to call it a day. He knew he could physically go for just a little bit longer, but he didn't want to risk it. The aching of his muscles he could endure, but the wooziness he could not.

And as much as he had persuaded himself that he had passed out at that game with Tamachi due to dehydration, it had still scared him a little. It was the first time he had ever fainted from soccer, and his mother and sister had predictably flipped. He didn't want them to worry about him, and he certainly didn't want to faint while he was on the soccer pitch by himself. Convinced, he grabbed his things and headed for the locker room.

* * *

A fresh shower later, he felt as good as new.

He picked his dirty uniform up with only his forefinger and thumb before carefully placing them into his duffel bag, not wanting to dirty up his now-clean body. Picking up his schoolbag, duffel bag and uniform blazer, he headed out of the locker rooms.

He saw a blinking light coming from inside his schoolbag, and he opened it up to see his mobile flashing.

Four missed calls from an unknown number from the United States.

It was Mimi.

He wondered whether he should call back or not. Whatever she wanted to say to him was important enough—to her anyway—that she felt the need to ring him four times.

However, ringing America cost a lot of money, and she was the kind of person who loved to talk for long periods of time, about everything and nothing at all.

Still, he felt a little guilty to ignore her, so he scrolled through his contact list until he came to her name and dialled.

"TAI KAMIYA!" she screamed almost instantly, and he let go of the phone in shock.

"Jesus!" he cried irritably, catching it before it could hit the floor. "Mimi, what the he—"

"Hold on, let me ring you back!" she said quickly, hanging up before he had a chance to respond.

He waited, knowing she was going to use a calling card to make it cheaper for the both of them.

In a few seconds, she was ringing once more, again from an unknown number.

"Hello?" he asked carefully, holding the device a little farther away from his ear.

"Tai, I'd just like to first start off and say that you should really get a smartphone. You're probably the only one in the world without one, and it would make ringing you so much easier. There are a lot of apps where you can ring internationally for free too," she lectured in her regular voice.

He held the mobile back to his ear, deciding his hearing was safe from her high-pitched screams for now. "Yeah, I know. You say that every time, Mimi."

She sighed dramatically. "Honestly. It's like you're _trying_ to make my life hard."

He smirked, knowing she couldn't see and yell at him for it. "You're right, Meems. That's the real reason."

"Anyway, why haven't you been answering me?"

"I was at practice. I didn't see that you rang until just now."

She sighed again.

"Sorry," he added, more to satisfy her than actually meaning it.

"IDIOT!" she shrieked suddenly, and he almost dropped his mobile again.

"Mimi!" he hissed angrily. "I nearly went deaf right then!"

She didn't have any of it.

"Don't you dare yell at _me_, Tai Kamiya! I'll have you know that I'm doing you a _favour_ by ringing you, and if anything you should be thanking me for what I'm about to tell you next!"

"What is it?" Tai asked irritably, choosing to avoid asking why she was mad at him in the first place. He guessed it was because he hadn't been keeping in touch, specifically with writing letters. He would rather email, but Mimi insisted that emails weren't as "personal."

Never mind that she always complained about his handwriting whenever he did bother to write her.

"You are the most insensitive, most clueless, absolute _stupidest_ human being to ever walk this planet!"

She was also easily the most dramatic person he knew.

"And not to mention one of the luckiest!"

"Mimi, I'm sorry I haven't been writing. I've just been really busy with soccer and school, so I haven't had the time to—"

"Dumb. That's what you are, Tai. Dumb."

Now he was just annoyed. Who was she to call him out of the blue just to insult him?

"Mimi, it's just a stupid letter. And I'm telling you, email is just as good, if not better because it's a whole lot faster and—"

"That's not what I'm talking about!" she snapped. Mimi also had a habit of interrupting. "I just can't sit around doing nothing anymore!"

He sighed in his mind, and he redirected his attention to the window displays of the passing stores, they being far more interesting than this conversation. "Why? What's wrong now?"

"_YOU_!"

"And what's wrong with me?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"For some reason unbeknownst to man, the kindest, smartest, most beautiful girl fancies you, but you're too stupid and blind to see it!"

He smirked. "Mimi, I'm flattered. I didn't know you felt that way about me."

She groaned. "I meant the kindest, smartest, most beautiful girl in _your_ league. Obviously, it isn't me. I'm way too good for you."

He laughed.

It was funny because he knew she actually meant it.

"So what do you have to say for yourself?" she demanded.

He decided to bite. "I give. Who is this perfect being who supposedly likes me?"

She sighed again. "Tai, I can't tell you everything. How are you going to get through life if you can't figure these things out without my help?"

"Because I'm the most insensitive, most clueless, stupidest person to ever walk Earth?" he guessed sarcastically.

"I'm glad we both agree."

"Come on, Mimi," he urged, growing impatient. "I'm too tired and sore to think straight. Just tell me."

Another sigh.

"Tai, who's the most beautiful girl you know?"

He tried to think, but Mimi interrupted his thoughts with another question.

"And who's the kindest girl you know?"

Kari, but that couldn't be it.

"And who's the smartest girl you know?"

"…Mimi, you aren't talking about Yolei, are you?" he asked awkwardly.

Mimi burst out into loud laughter, which didn't stop for a good minute. He held in the urge to hang up on her.

"For your information, I don't need help in this department," Tai retorted, a little embarrassed that his guess had been wrong. "I'm doing fine without your help."

Mimi snickered belittlingly. "Yeah, like asking people to give you another girl's number instead of asking her yourself?"

He frowned, wondering just how many people Sora had blabbed away to. First Akita, now Mimi.

"Yeah, like that," he muttered, not knowing how to defend himself.

He could almost see Mimi's condescending smirk.

"Anyway, I just gave her away. It should be obvious to you now. I'm going to hang up since I think this phone card is running low on minutes, but stop being so thick, Tai. I mean it. It's really getting on my nerves."

"By—"

"Oh, and congratulations on your scholarship! I'm so proud of you! I just knew you could do it! When you're rich and famous, don't forget about little old me!"

"Tha—"

"And write me! Now that you've reminded me, it's making me really angry that you never do!"

"Sorr—"

"Remember to write _legibly_! Honestly, Tai, it's like you never went to primary school. Your handwriting is absolutely hideous."

"All—"

"Okay, I'm going for real now. Good-bye!"

She hung up.

Tai frowned, disregarding Mimi's rudeness for a moment—he was used to it—to think about what she had said to him about this supposed perfect girl that liked him.

The only girl friends Mimi and he had in common were Kari, Yolei and Sora.

Kari, of course, was out of the picture. That would be disgusting, and he was disgusted at himself for even thinking his sister's name.

He didn't know Yolei very well, but she seemed more interested in his teammates than him. Not to mention that Mimi had nearly died laughing when he had brought up her name.

As for Sora, he knew her a little _too_ well—not to mention her current fling with Matt.

He chuckled amusedly.

Matt and Sora. He wondered how they were doing. He could already see their future, full of Matt brooding and Sora nagging. They were clearly not going to make it, and it was still funny to him that they had somehow managed to get together. He gave them three months tops, though he certainly wasn't about to admit that to anyone, least of all Sora.

If only she would talk to him again.

She always did this. Got angry with him and refused to tell him why.

If she _was_ angry at him for asking about her and Matt, she was a hypocrite. Every time he started any sort of anything with a girl, she pressed him for every detail and got upset when he wouldn't talk. Take for example his most recent ex-girlfriend, Nanami. He still believed that Sora had been more interested in that short-lived, hot mess of a relationship than he was.

She had judged Nanami hard. She was vain. She was crazy. She was mean. She was stupid. She was wrong for him in every way. Sora had never explicitly said any of this, but she had not so subtly dropped hints whenever she got the chance.

They hadn't even known each other either. At least he was friends with Matt.

Eventually, they broke up because she thought he spent too much time with his soccer ball and not enough time with her. She gave him an ultimatum, and soccer had easily won. After all, he had only ever asked her out because she was hot and hitting on him, and he had been bored. When he told Sora this, she didn't talk to him for nearly a week. He was a chauvinistic pig, and all of the sudden it was he who didn't deserve poor Nanami.

Sora was confusing like that.

It was the same as the other night. All he had tried to do was give her a push in the right direction, just as she had with Nanami.

If anything, he thought he was the one deserving of an apology. She had humiliated him in front of all those people, and for no valid reason he could think of.

"_You—you idiot! You don't know anything, Tai! You're such a jerk!"_

Those were the words she said before she stormed out of the yakai tent in the most dramatic fashion he had ever seen. He couldn't even run after her because he had been so stunned, and then the owner of the tent reminded him to pay for two meals he didn't even eat. He had stared blankly at her, and she pitied him and made him only pay for one.

He suddenly felt the oddest feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he rubbed it, wondering if he was hungry.

His mobile rang again, and he answered it without looking at the screen. "Hello?"

"It's me again."

Mimi.

"Yeah?"

"I forgot to ask you, but please don't tell her that I rang you. I promised her I wouldn't say anything, so she'll be really angry with me if she finds out. It'll be our little secret, okay?"

Tai nodded, forgetting he was on the phone and forgetting that he still didn't know who she was talking about.

"Okay," he agreed anyway.

She sighed. "And, please, Tai. Be a little nicer to her. You've really been hurting her feelings lately, and it breaks my heart too. I know you probably don't mean to be, but you can't honestly be that dense."

"…Yeah."

"Ugh!" she cried abruptly, sounding repulsed. "Okay, _Matt_, I'm trying to talk to you here. You can at least have the decency to say more than one word."

Tai grunted grumpily at the comparison. "What's the point? You're just going to interrupt me anyway."

"Um, _excuse_ _you_, Tai! I dare you to give me even one example of when I've ever interrupted you! I happen to be a fantastic listener!"

He rolled his eyes again. The thing about Mimi was that despite her annoying quirks, she never really realised them herself. He felt mean to call her out for it when she really didn't mean any harm, even though he knew she wouldn't hesitate doing it to him.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"I'll forgive you this time," she said seriously, evoking another amused smile from him.

"Well then… bye," Tai said unsurely.

"Tai, wait." She didn't say anything right away, but she eventually settled to sigh once more. "I don't know how you feel about her, but I want you to know that I think she's really good for you. She's one of my absolute best friends too, you know. I wouldn't be doing this unless I honestly thought you deserved her too."

The pain in his stomach returned, and before he could notice it himself, the colour began to drain from his face as realisation struck.

But it couldn't be. It just couldn't. Mimi had to be wrong. He had to be wrong.

"If you don't feel the same, you should let her know so she doesn't hang on to the possibility. She deserves that much, don't you think? You two have been friends for a long time. It's the least you could do."

_You two have been friends for a long time._

He felt his heart thump a little faster as he confirmed his suspicions with himself, colour returning back to his paled face in a darkened crimson.

"Mimi, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'll write you later, I swear."

He hung up before she could protest. His head was pounding and his stomach pains intensified, the feeling not too far off from how he felt when he thought he needed to vomit earlier.

It couldn't be. Not Sora. There was no way _Sora_ was interested in him. They were friends. Just friends. It had been that way for over a decade. She couldn't possibly think of him any other way.

Hell, he knew _he_ couldn't think of her any other way.

And yet all fingers pointed to her.

And, if it was Sora, he now knew why she had been so angry with him all weekend.

He had told her she was like a sister to him, and then he had told her to date Matt.

His mouth went dry.

He knew he wasn't the most observant person in the world, nor was he the most sensitive, but even he felt that this was abnormally senseless of him.

Sora was one of his closest friends, and if she did like him, what he did might as well have been continuous slaps to her face.

_Oh God_, he thought as more memories filled in. The broken promise of her trying to take him out. The time he had asked his mum to his banquet over her. The time he had asked her for Kaori's number.

He wondered how long she had liked him for, and he thought back further.

The time he had bragged to her about making out with the head cheerleader at some party.

Nanami.

He felt sick.

He thought about her for a second, imagined her as his girlfriend.

He felt an uncomfortable chill run up the entirety of his body.

He couldn't think about it without feeling awkward—grossed out even—but it didn't matter how he felt. He needed to see her, needed to apologise. He would let her down later, but right now he needed to find her.

He broke into a run.

* * *

He stopped running about half a block away from her flat complex so that he wouldn't have to see her out of breath.

He ran his towel through his damp hair once more before combing through it with his fingers. He suddenly felt self-conscious that every time she saw him, he was either sweaty from practice or wet from showering because he had been sweaty from practice.

He unexpectedly felt a tiny bit of panic set in now that he was so close.

What would he say? He didn't know whether he should admit that he knew or not, on the off chance that his guess was wrong. If he did say that he knew, what was he supposed to follow up with?

"_Hey Sora, do you have some sort of thing for me? I'm very sorry, but I'm not interested in a relationship right now. I hope you will understand."_

Or if he just acted dumb:

"_Sora, I just came over here randomly because I was thinking about how sorry I was to have offended you this weekend. Also, I'm sorry for all the other times I was insensitive towards your feelings."_

Wrong. Both were all wrong.

It didn't matter. He was sure the words would come to him once he saw her. He was pretty good at coming up with things on the spot anyway.

Still, despite what he was telling himself, he couldn't help but feel nervous as he walked towards her flat complex in a pace slightly slower than his usual stride.

He stopped when he recognised two figures standing in front of the entrance. One was Sora, the other was Matt. The two of them appeared to be talking, and Matt even laughed.

He didn't do anything to conceal himself, but it didn't matter because they weren't paying any attention to his direction.

He wondered what to do.

Obviously, he wasn't going to interrupt them. He wouldn't do that to Matt.

He could wait until he left, but that might be weird. Or he could just wait until the next morning.

Yes, that was a better plan. He would just talk to her at school the next morning, which also gave him extra time to formulate a plan as to what exactly he'd say.

At least the two of them seemed to be getting along—

Tai felt his thoughts freeze as Matt suddenly took a step towards Sora and leaned down to close the gap between them. It was a brief kiss, not particularly passionate or long. Still, he saw Sora's cheeks flush lightly before she gave him a shy smile and a rather awkward hug.

He thought seeing them like this eventually would be funny or even a little disgusting, but instead Tai felt… weird. He was, after all, essentially just watching them during an intimate moment, violating their privacy.

He shook his head and turned around to walk home.

_Mimi_, he thought irritably.

She had given him belated information, and he had been just a few seconds away from completely humiliating himself. Tai realised that in his bewilderment, he had completely forgotten about the Matt factor.

If Sora ever did have feelings for him, she certainly didn't look it now.

* * *

I know it's terrible to do this, but I feel like I always put up chapters even when I'm dissatisfied with them. I just wanted to stop reading the same thing over and over again and move along, ha. Oh well, it's just a fanfic, right?

I chose not to include Matt and Sora's date because this story was always supposed to focus on the changing relationship between Tai and Sora, so I don't feel like excess Sorato scenes are necessary. (That, and I really just don't like writing them.) Either way, Matt cheekily managed to get a kiss in, so go him.

Another random fact: Okay, so I'm not completely sure how I came across this, but I found an interview between the Japanese voice actors for Matt and Gabumon. I can't for the life of me find it again, but in it, Gabumon's voice actor admitted that he disapproved of Sorato and would have strongly advised Sora to pick Tai over Matt!

Sigh, stupid girl.

Anyway, review if you have the time!


	10. Chapter 10

Finally sat myself down and wrote this. Thanks everyone for the lovely feedback.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 10**

It was a difficult life, but Tai was adjusting quite well to his newfound fame and the privileges that came with it. He stopped walking to admire one of the posters pasted onto the main hallway of the school. This particular one was dedicated to him, his name and number written largely across it, along with various candid photographs of him during his past games.

In the last several weeks, his soccer team had made it further into the national tournament than ever before in the history of the school, and it appeared that every student and faculty member was hit with school pride. They were currently the only team to represent the Minato Ward in the tournament, a huge feat considering that achievement usually went to Tamachi, a team they had already kicked off.

Even better, he had received two more scholarship offers from Hitotsubashi University and Tohoku University. His heart was still set on Tokyo, but it felt good to know that he now had options.

He felt a burst of pride as he noticed that several of the other posters pasted on the wall were for him as well.

Yes, he could easily get used to this.

"Here."

Tai broke his gaze from the poster and turned to face Matt. His brows were furrowed, eyes indifferent, lips pointed downwards in a slight frown, and there was a red, lacy, heart-shaped box of assorted truffles in his extended hand.

"What the hell?" Tai muttered uneasily, subconsciously stumbling to take a step back towards the wall.

Matt narrowed his eyes at the gesture. "Don't be weird. A girl in my class wanted me to give this to you since she knew we were friends. I forgot her name, but at least I'm passing it along, so take it."

The awkwardness was uplifted, and Tai smirked.

"Yeah, next time start off with the explanation instead of just handing me a box of chocolates in the middle of the hallway. People might get the wrong idea."

Matt shook the box impatiently, arm still outstretched. "Are you going to take it or not?"

Tai held a finger to his chin, pretending to think it over. "Hm, I don't know, Matt. I don't really swing that way, and this is all so sudd—hey!"

Matt had released the box from his hand, and Tai's reflexes were barely quick enough to grab the box before it could spill to the floor.

"What's the big idea?" Tai snapped, but Matt had already turned around and was walking away. "You don't have to be an arse about it."

He didn't even turn back around. "And you don't have to be an arrogant prick about it."

Tai rolled his eyes before running up to catch up with his friend. "Whatever, Matt. Learn to take a joke every now and then. It isn't going to kill you."

Matt stopped walking and looked directly at Tai. To an outsider, it almost looked like he was glaring hatefully, but Tai knew it was just the way Matt looked normally.

"Why are you following me?"

_Then again…_

"I'm _not_ following you. I'm walking to class, and it just happens to be in the same direction as yours. Considering we're supposed to be friends, I thought we could walk together. If you're going to be a little girl, I can walk a step behind you."

Even though he had said it, Tai didn't fall back and continued to walk alongside Matt. Matt looked at him irritably, though he didn't say anything either.

Tai decided that his mate was just grouchy in the mornings—not much different from other points of the days, if you asked him—and they simply walked together without talking.

"I heard you're doing another concert soon," Tai brought up for the sake of conversation.

"You heard wrong."

Matt had said it in such a dismissive, indifferent tone that it offended him. He began muttering under his breath and rolled his eyes again. As he did so, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar girl walking through the school doors.

"Girlfriend at 2 o'clock," Tai announced to Matt before calling out loudly to her.

She looked confused for a second, glancing at her surroundings before she made eye contact with him and waved back.

"Good morning," Sora greeted warmly once she had caught up with them.

She reached over to give Matt a light peck on the cheek, and he responded by wrapping an arm over her waist.

Tai pretended not to have noticed either occurrence, instead letting his gaze fall to a trio of pretty girls he had never seen around before, who giggled and waved flirtatiously at him. He grinned back, waving slightly as well. They giggled further and began to chatter amongst themselves. He wasn't interested in them, but there was no harm in a little innocent flirting. However, his attention was shifted back to his friends when Sora too started to giggle, most likely over something Matt had said or done.

The two of them had certainly caused quite a fuss when they announced their relationship a few weeks ago. Sora gained a slew of jealous haters, but their friends, Tai included, were happy for them. Tai personally thought they could do without the small public displays of affection every now and then, but he supposed they weren't too bad compared to other couples he knew.

At any rate, Matt had saved him a great deal of trouble. It was the day after he had awkwardly seen them together that Sora's mood had uplifted, and she had actually come into class apologising to _him_. Sora rarely got truly angry with him, but when she was angry, she was _angry_.

Worse than her anger, however, was the idea that she could've possibly been interested in him. He had never _really_ had to reject a girl before, but the thought of rejecting his best friend had been too hard. He had played various possible outcomes in his head, but none of them included a scenario where their friendship wouldn't have changed. Matt had been his saving grace, and he was glad to have avoided the awkward, can-we-just-be-friends talk he could've had with her.

"Who gave you those?" Sora asked him, raising an eyebrow towards his box of chocolates.

He grinned. "Matt."

Matt shot him a look before turning back to Sora with a more pleasant expression. "It was a girl in my class. She asked me to give it to him."

"That was his excuse," Tai added, winking at Sora.

Sora giggled and gently hit Tai's arm. "I better watch out for you then, huh? You might sweep him from right underneath my feet."

"Oh, you know. I'm a pretty big deal around here. Whatever." He lifted his shoulders in a shrug, grinning. "What can I say, Sor? I'm irresistible."

She rolled her eyes, though she laughed as well.

Matt was still frowning. "Are you quite done flattering yourself?"

Tai laughed too, ignoring Matt's remark.

He was sorry to say that he rather enjoyed pushing Matt's buttons from time to time.

"Anyway, I'm going to head to class now. I don't want to be late." Matt turned to Sora. "I'll see you at lunch."

Tai looked away again as he leaned down to kiss her—this time on the mouth—and he couldn't help but notice that he lingered for a little longer than usual.

"Bye," Matt said simply to Tai before walking away.

"Why not just make out in front of me instead?" Tai asked sarcastically once Matt was out of earshot.

Sora flushed. "He usually doesn't do that… Sorry."

"Yeah, yeah," Tai said with a wave of his hand. "Tell your boyfriend to keep it in his trousers. Nobody wants to see that, least of all me."

"Tai!" Sora hissed, hitting his arm again.

Tai smiled innocently and changed the subject. "Are you coming to the game tomorrow night?"

She looked unsurely at him before wincing. "I can't. Matt's friend is performing at this local café, so we were going to go and watch him together."

He frowned in disappointment. "Are you serious? That's the lamest thing I've ever heard! Come watch my game. It'll be fun!"

"I'm sorry, Tai. I wish I could go."

She genuinely did look apologetic, so Tai tried to conceal his discontent. He couldn't help but notice that since she had started her relationship, she hadn't been to a single one of his games. Furthermore, she hadn't once visited him in the soccer pitch. While he had been thankful for it at first, it was getting to the point where it bothered him a little bit. She didn't even nag at him anymore, and he almost wanted to do something stupid in front of her just to see if she would.

He felt a tug, interrupting his thoughts. It was Sora, trying to get a better look at the heart-shaped box in his hands. He loosened his grip to let her take it.

"Wow, are these Belgian?" she exclaimed, turning the box around to read the back. "These are really expensive!"

"Do you like chocolate, Sora?" he asked, even though he knew she did. Who hated chocolate anyway? "You can have them. I can't eat chocolate, remember?"

"Tai," she said warningly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm a pansy." He waved a hand lazily in her direction. Perhaps he didn't miss her nagging after all.

"That's not it," she said sternly, frowning a little. "Whoever got these for you must have put a lot of thought into it. You should think about that before you just give them away to the first person who shows interest in them. Did you even thank her?"

He tried not to smile, amused that she was taking this so seriously. "How am I supposed to do that? Matt forgot her name."

"Honestly, you two…" she muttered before letting out a sigh. "I'll ask Matt to point her out during lunch today, and I'll relay her name back to you. Or, you know, it wouldn't kill you to take a minute out of your training schedule to stop by their room and do it yourself. I bet she'd really appreciate that, whoever she is."

He couldn't hold in his amusement any longer, and he chuckled.

"I'm being serious!" she snapped irritably.

"I'm being serious too."

"No, you aren't. Now tell me what's so funny!" she demanded.

He smiled again. "Nothing, I just… it's just a bit of chocolate, Sora. There's no need to make a fiasco out of it. After all, if she really does like me, she should have come up to me herself."

His smile faded as he dodged her hand that swung dangerously fast and dangerously close to his arm.

"You're such a jerk, Tai! She's probably too shy to give it to you herself, did you ever think that? Really, you're so insensitive!"

"Yeah, well, I don't like shy girls," he joked.

"Yeah, well, I don't know why they'd like you either!"

With that, she slammed the box to his chest and walked ahead.

His lips had already begun to smile entertainingly a little at her dramatics before his brain told him to think further.

He felt a sinking feeling as it hit him that she was probably acting like this because he had treated her the same way when she supposedly had an interest in him.

"Hey, wait for me!" he called out, running to catch up with her.

She was still frowning when he reached her.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to be funny, but it was a bad joke," he said with a wince.

"Yes, it was," she agreed. She sighed and stopped walking, shaking her head. "I know it's difficult for you to remember that I'm a girl too, Tai, but you don't know what we have to go through. It offends me when you act like some masochistic, egotistic king. She obviously likes you enough to buy you that. Even if it means nothing to you, you could at least show a little compassion. And before you tell me that I'm only nagging at you, Matt's the exact same way. He shouldn't have forgotten her name."

"All right, I get it. Guys are jerks, and I'm the worst person alive. I'm sorry," he repeated, putting a hand to her shoulder. "I'll risk being the third wheel and go to lunch with you and Matt."

"Are you still joking around?" she snapped, brushing his hand away. "Tai, I'm being completely serious right now!"

"Me too!"

"No, you aren't. You're obviously kidding around."

"What?" he asked incredulously. "Do you want me to have a heart-to-heart with you in the middle of the hallway five minutes before class? I'm joking around, but I'm also being serious."

"Ugh!" she muttered, pushing against his chest to distance him from her. "You really are the worst person alive."

He smirked. "Well, technically, _Matt_ is because he forgot her name. None of this would have happened if he had the brain capacity to remember just one name. Even I could've done that."

"You're doing it again!"

"I can't help it!" he protested again, trying hard to force himself not to smile. "Come on, let's not fight and have an awkward first period. Tell you what. I'll forgive you for missing my game if you forgive me for being insensitive."

She crossed her arms across her chest, unwavering. "I'm sorry, but I fail to see how those two things can even begin to compare."

"I've been friends with you for _how long_ and you're blowing me off for some guy you don't even know? Plus, you don't know this girl either." He stuck out the box of chocolates to show who he was talking about.

She seemed to think it over before she sighed. "Fine, it's a deal. And I really am sorry that I'm missing your game. I forgot about it, and I already told Matt I'd go with him."

In all honestly, he didn't really mind that she was missing it, but it was a good excuse for her not to get angry with him for now.

"It's fine," he assured. "And I'm sorry for being insensitive."

She frowned again. "You really are though. Tai, you should really do something to fix that. Girls like sensitive guys."

"Well then, maybe I'll ask your precious Matt for sensitivity advice during lunch too," he mumbled sarcastically.

"What? I didn't catch that."

"Nothing," he said quickly, beginning to walk again. "I said you're completely right."

* * *

As the Tokyo player had suggested to him a month before, Tai had finally grown used to the feeling of wanting to vomit while he trained.

He dry heaved and took another swig of his sport drink, contemplating whether to run back to the field or take a small break.

Lunch in Matt's room had been as uneventful as he had anticipated. Matt had been silent as usual, and Sora had merely stared at him the entire time while he attempted to strike up a conversation with the shy girl who had given him the chocolates. It had been a painfully long hour with no real purpose other than to appease Sora's anger.

Anyway, he was most concerned with the fact that he had missed an hour's worth of training. He had established a routine over the past few months, and even though he usually wasn't the kind of person who limited himself to repetitive habits, it still bothered him a little, and he wanted to make up for lost time now.

However, he was quickly getting bored and was considering going home early again. Coach had warned him not to let his offers get to his head and make him turn lazy, but Tai was beginning to think anybody would get bored after countless hours of playing soccer by themselves.

Just then, he heard a shuffling noise and turned his attention to a dark figure slowly approaching the soccer pitch. He set his drink down, squinting in an attempt to make the person out.

"Sora?" he guessed.

"Sorry mate, it's just me."

Stepping onto the lit field, Akita from the team emerged instead.

"I knew you were in love with her," he teased.

"What do you want, Akita?" he asked irritably. Once he got a clearer view of his teammate, he saw that he was once again in uniform. "You here for more?"

"Coach is making me," Akita muttered. "I can't tell if it's because he wants me to get better or if he's just using me to help you get better. Either way, I'm offended."

Tai grinned as Akita began stretching. "You could use the practice."

"Yeah, and you can use some rest," he countered, smirking too. "Then again, who am I to talk? You're the one with the free ride, oh Great One." He rolled his eyes. "Even my mum is in love with you."

"If you had tried harder, you could've gotten one too."

"Too bad I wanted a life, huh?" He stood up and cranked his neck. "All right, Kamiya. Show me this crazy routine of yours. I'm ready."

* * *

Akita held up far less than Tai had imagined.

"Let's take a break," Akita whinged, collapsing on the field. "I can't do this anymore."

"Yeah, you can," Tai said impatiently, jogging in place. "Keep up."

Akita cursed as he forced himself up, running alongside Tai once more. It lasted only a few minutes.

"I'm going to fucking die," Akita complained. "Seriously, Tai, give me five minutes. I'm literally about to pass out here."

He gave a loud, dissatisfied sigh but stopped anyway. Akita sat down again, and after a minute, Tai followed suit.

"You do this everyday?" Akita cried out, repeatedly hitting the side of his calves with his fists in an effort to soothe the cramps.

"Most days. You get used to it after a while."

Akita took several gulps of air before speaking. "You're mad."

"I'm driven."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure you're just mad." Akita suddenly turned his head and grinned at him. "Which reminds me, are you waiting for Takenouchi to get here? You thought I was her."

"No, I just guessed you were her because she comes to see me sometimes."

"I heard she's dating someone now."

"You heard right."

"That sucks, mate. First Kaori, now Takenouchi?" Akita chuckled. "Guess you can't be good with both soccer _and_ girls."

Tai glared at him. "What the hell? I never said I liked either one of them!"

"Come off it. Kaori rejected you, and Takenouchi chose some other guy over you. Don't try to hide it by acting like you don't care."

Tai stood up. "Actually, Kaori was crazy, and Sora and I were never anything. Now get up. If you're here to train, you'll have to get off your ass."

Akita rolled his eyes but stood up anyway. "Yes, Captain. You know, if you're offended, you could just say so instead of changing the subject."

"I'm not offended," Tai snapped.

"Whatever, don't take your girl problems out on me. I didn't do anything." Akita was still smirking as he brushed off his knees.

Tai wasn't quite sure when Akita had become such a miserable smartass. He tried to think of the most strenuous exercises he knew just to torture him a little, but his thoughts were cut short by a loud, feminine screech.

"_AKITA_!"

"Fuck!" Akita cursed lowly.

Tai was at lost for a second, but then he saw a girl running to the field at what appeared to be light speed.

"Fuck," Akita cursed again, taking a step back.

In a blink of an eye, the girl had appeared in front of them, and Tai recognised her as Akita's girlfriend. She was their age but attended a different school, so he didn't know her that well. He only ever saw her sometimes at their games, but she had always been so unassuming that Tai often forgot Akita even had a girlfriend.

Right now, however, she looked capable of committing murder. Tai would have been scared except she had marched right past him to Akita, seizing him by the collar of his uniform.

"Mister, you are _so_ dead! I'm not kidding this time! I cannot _believe_ you're still here! Did it ever occur to you that I was waiting for you since you promised me that you'd come over?"

"Hey baby, I'm really sorry," Akita said nervously. "Coach made me stay. I didn't have a choice! Tell him, Kamiya."

Tai didn't want to get involved in their spat, but he nodded anyway. "It's true."

She didn't even turn to acknowledge his existence.

"I don't _care_ what your coach said! You told _me_ that you'd be over by six! It's _7:30_! You couldn't take a second out of your life to call me? Not only that, but you're covered in sweat and dirt! Do you know how heinous you look right now? It's a wonder I even put up with you!"

"Er," Akita looked at Tai nervously, who merely shrugged. "I'm sorry babe. I'll never do it again. I swear."

She crossed her arms. "You had better hope not—for your sake. Last time I checked, I give you way more than this stupid soccer team does!"

Akita looked at Tai again. "I've got to go."

He shrugged again, admittedly a little intimidatedto talk.

"Ugh!" she shrieked. "The next time your little coach tells you to stay longer, tell him that he has no control over your life once practice ends!"

"Babe, you don't understand! Our coach is scary. We aren't allowed to talk back—"

"Oh, believe me! Just as soon as we get to my house, I'll show you just how scary a person can be!"

Akita protested again, but she silenced him just as quickly. They walked past Tai, Akita looking at him gloomily while his girlfriend continued to ignore his presence entirely.

"Honestly, Akita, can't you stop thinking about soccer for one second?"

She continued to nag at him as she dragged him off the field, holding him by his jersey as if he were some sort of untrained dog on a leash. He found it both a little funny and a little sad, as well as a little ironic. Akita struck him as the kind of player who stuck to soccer simply because he had done it all his life and was used to it, not necessarily because he loved it.

Then again, that's also how he felt about Akita and his girlfriend.

He decided that she was the reason behind his mediocrity. His girlfriend hindered him from reaching his potential, and it was his own fault for letting it happen.

Regardless, he found himself a little dumbfounded at what had just occurred, and he waited a few minutes until he was sure they'd gone until he too decided to go home. He didn't even bother to shower, leaving under the excuse that he could continue his training with weights that he could just do at home.

As he began his walk back, he remembered that his parents had told him that they were eating out tonight, and that he and his sister were to fend for themselves for dinner. Never really in the mood to cook something himself, he decided it would be best to pick up something on the way for him and Kari; and before he could really start thinking about what he wanted, his stomach had chosen a place and had already led him straight towards it.

As he crossed the street to where the restaurant was, he recognised two more familiar people sitting across each other by the window of the restaurant: Matt and Sora.

It wasn't surprising. This was one of his and Sora's favourite restaurants, and both frequented it often. He waved from the crosswalk to try and grab their attentions, but they didn't notice him. He was glad he now had friends to talk to while he'd wait for his meals, but once he reached the pavement and got a better view of them, he changed his mind.

They were holding hands across the table, and Matt pulled her hand up with his to kiss it lightly.

He took several steps back so that they could no longer spot him if they were to look out the window, feeling weird that this was the second time in a month that he'd accidentally seen them during their dates. Deciding he'd rather make something at home after all, he turned around and crossed the intersection once more.

* * *

"I'm home," he called out, immediately walking into the kitchen to raid it.

His sister came out of her room to the kitchen, looking surprised. "Tai, you're home early."

"Yeah, I decided that I want to do weights, and I can do that at home," he explained, staring at the contents of their refrigerator. "Have you eaten yet? I'll make us something since Mum and Dad aren't here."

Kari smiled as she too walked towards the refrigerator, ducking under his arm and subsequently moving him out of her way.

"I have a better idea. You can keep training, and I'll make us dinner. I just finished my homework, so I don't have anything else to do."

He smirked knowingly at her. "Are you trying to tell me I'm a bad cook?"

"Not at all!" she protested immediately. "I just thought since you have something to do and I don't, it'd make more sense for me to do it."

"I'm only kidding," he explained, closing the refrigerator door and opening the freezer instead. "And don't worry about it, Kari. I don't mind cooking."

"Plus, I learned this new recipe from Cody's mum, and I've really been wanting to try it out."

He knew his sister had only added the last part to convince him to do as she wanted, and he knew that she only wanted to do it because she wanted to give him the time to do what he wanted.

She really was the best little sister ever.

"All right then," he agreed, closing the freezer door too. "Thanks a lot, Kar. I'll be in the balcony if you need me."

She nodded, and he left the kitchen. He stopped by his room to get his underused dumbbells before going to the balcony where the equally underused stationary bicycle was. His father had bought it for himself when Tai was young, thinking it would be the greatest investment ever. His mother said she could count the number of times he had actually used it on one hand, but they never threw it away because it had been so expensive. Recently, Tai had started to make use of it once his coach told him to bulk up.

As he began to peddle, he set _A Tale of Two Cities_ on top of the controls, a novel he had to read for Literature class. He figured if he had to do things he didn't want to do, he might as well do them together to lessen the time he'd have to spend doing both. He picked up his dumbbells, not really putting much effort into them or the book or the peddling.

Despite what some people thought, he wasn't particularly fond of working out. He liked playing sport outside, but it was different when it was on his balcony or in a gym. It bored him to tears, but Coach insisted it was necessary. He thought Tai was still too lean, which Tai had taken offence to since he _had_ managed to get three offers, which was far more than any other player Coach had ever trained before.

Twenty minutes later, he was still on the second page of the novel. His mind had started to wander about nineteen minutes earlier, and the last thing he cared about was the stupid thing. His arms had become numb with the constant lifting, which was fine with him because then he didn't have to think about how much they hurt. His legs, used to the stress, weren't in any particular sort of pain, so he increased the resistance on the machine.

He sighed, bored, and he picked up his mobile to check the time.

He had an SMS from an unknown number, from about an hour ago.

"WHERE IS AKITA?" it read.

He put his mobile back, confirming to himself that Akita's girlfriend was indeed mental. How she had even managed to get his number was beyond him, but even more puzzling was the fact that Akita was somehow able to be in a relationship with this mad girl. She had gone on and on about how lucky he was earlier that night, but Tai personally thought she was the lucky one for snagging the one person who was patient enough to handle such a needy thing.

Still, it would be a lie to say that he wasn't the least bit jealous of Akita for having a girlfriend in the first place. He had put all his focus on his sport since school began that, aside from Kaori, he hadn't really put in any sort of effort to get to know any girl since his messy breakup with Nanami the year before.

Now that he had three offers under his belt, one which was his dream team, perhaps now wouldn't be a terrible time to find someone for himself. Once again, his mind shifted subconsciously to Matt and Sora, and, suddenly, he didn't think they were very amusing anymore. It had been funny in the beginning, but the more comfortable they got with each other, the less entertaining they became.

It finally triggered that his arms weren't numb but in pain, and rather than forcing himself to continue lifting his weights, he simply let his arms drop limply to his sides, slowing his peddling as well.

Sora was really nice. He'd bet she wouldn't be as crazy as Akita's girlfriend. He'd bet she'd be really understanding of anything Matt wanted to do, such as wanting to watch his lame friend playing some lame music in some lame, hole-in-the-wall venue.

Despite the fact that her nagging got on his nerves at times, he supposed Sora was a good catch. Matt had obviously gotten lucky. Somebody with a personality as dreadful as his shouldn't have gotten a girl as cool as Sora.

And even though she had once told him that she was probably meanest to him out of all her other friends, he had always thought she had been nice towards him too. She visited him in practice, offered to buy him food when she incorrectly thought he was malnourished and worried for him more than his parents did. Thinking about it a little more, he realised these were all things that had at one point annoyed him, but now that she didn't do any of them, he missed them. When she wasn't in a relationship, he was her number one. Now that she was with Matt, he had to take a backseat and was second to her boyfriend.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Tai?"

He jumped in surprise and turned to face Kari, who also jumped in surprise.

"Oops, sorry," he apologised quickly. "Didn't mean to scare you just then."

She smiled. "No, I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that. Dinner should be ready in a few minutes, if you want to wash up." She raised an eyebrow. "Are you reading?"

He was confused for a second before he realised she was referring to his forgotten novel. "Oh, ah, yeah, kind of." He set the dumbbells down and looked intently at his sister. "Hey, random question. What do you think about Matt and Sora?"

She giggled. "I think they're really cute together. TK told me that Matt's been in a really good mood lately too. Isn't that the sweetest thing?"

"Er, sure."

For some reason, it bothered him that Matt was in a good mood, even though he knew there was no reason for him to be bothered by anything like that.

"What else has TK said?"

"Nothing really," Kari answered with a shrug. "But you know, if I'm being completely honest, I was a little surprised they got together since I thought Sora liked somebody else."

"Who?" he asked quickly.

She looked sheepishly at him. "Actually, I thought it was you, but it was only because Yolei told me it was true."

He felt the colour drain from his face again, like it had when Mimi had told him the same thing.

Had he been the only person not to see it?

"Ha, yeah, that'd be weird."

"Right? That's what I told her, but Yolei's really good at convincing people." She giggled again. "Oh, actually, there was one more thing TK said. He told me Matt liked her for a while, and he'd tried to get her attention for ages before she finally saw it. I think he won her over during his concert. I just think it's all so romantic."

"More like pathetic," he muttered under his breath.

"What?"

He straightened his back. "I said his concert must have been pretty amazing if even my little sister chose to go to it over my banquet."

Kari's cheerful smile disappeared. "You aren't upset with me, are you, Tai? I'm really sorry. I thought you didn't care. I really would have gone if I knew you had wanted me to go, honest!"

"No, I was only kidding," he said impassively, gathering his things. "I'm just in a bad mood because my training was intense. I'm going to wash up."

She got the idea and let him go inside without another word.

He felt bad knowing his sister would probably take his outburst more seriously than he had meant it to be, and he made a mental note to apologise to her over dinner. He wasn't quite sure what had made him say that to her because, up until a minute ago, he genuinely hadn't cared that she went to Matt's concert over his banquet.

This was all Mimi's fault.

She had broken his ignorance, and that's why he was bothered. She even had the nerve to not call him with a follow-up, even though she clearly had to know about Sora's relationship with Matt. He wasn't about to call her either, since he didn't want Mimi to know that he cared.

Except, he realised, up until a minute ago, he really hadn't cared about that either.

* * *

Notes:

Writing this chapter made me realise how fast-paced my outline was in regard to Tai's developing emotions, so I had to make up for it by writing a great deal more than I had initially anticipated. It was when it hit 30 pages that I decided it would just be better to cut it in half and upload the second part as a new chapter. Good news is that the next chapter will be up much quicker because it's already been written, just not completely edited.

Originally, I had planned to use Jun Motomiya to serve as the leverage for which Tai would recognise his feelings, but ultimately I decided against it and chose Akita. I typically dislike original characters when I read other people's fanfics, yet I always insert them in my own. Sorry for being a hypocrite. To be fair, however, I did take his name from the Digimon writers, and he really did play defence on Tai and Sora's childhood team. (I.e. I didn't make him up, just his personality.) Regardless, he'll be seen at least one more time in the next chapter, and then I'll probably retire him.

edit: As my cousin pointed out, I was wrong about Akita's name being Akita. His name in the novels is in fact Kenji, and he aspires to be like Yutaka Akita, a famous footballer in Japan. That's what I get for skimming, but it's too late to do anything about that!


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for the reviews everyone! I loveloveLOVE them! Please enjoy the next instalment!

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 11**

He had known Sora since he was seven. It was the first day of school, and he had mistakenly thought she was a boy. To this day, she claimed that he had traumatised her, but he knew she only said it to make him feel bad. At first, his seven-year-old self was disgusted at the prospect of befriending a girl, but the thought was soon disregarded when he introduced her to soccer. It was the sport that made them become so close. She was athletic like him, and he had been intrigued that such a girl existed.

One day when they were twelve, she suddenly decided to quit soccer and take up tennis. He had been nothing less of horrified. How she could find it in herself to give up the greatest game in the world for such a secondary, inferior hobby that barely qualified as a sport was beyond him. It was with this decision of hers that the two of them had begun to drift a little. It wasn't that they didn't like each other anymore; Sora just began gaining new interests while his interests remained the same. Soccer had always been the median for which they saw each other on a daily basis, and with it gone, it was more difficult to stay close. The years they shared the same class, they were closer. The years they didn't, they weren't. Life just worked that way. However, for the past three years, they had always been put in the same class, and their friendship had gone back to how it was when they were younger. He saw her strictly as his friend, and for the longest time, he thought she felt the same.

After eleven years of knowing her and denying her of her sex and her appeal, Tai finally decided today that Sora was indeed pretty. And all it had really taken was a slight wind from an open window that blew her skirt a little higher up her legs.

"You look nice."

She looked at him pleasantly and took her seat beside his. "Thank you, Tai. That's really sweet of you." However, her smile quickly dissolved upon seeing the book on his desk, open to the second page. "You didn't read for class today, did you?"

He laughed sheepishly. "I got a little preoccupied over the weekend. We won, by the way."

"So I heard. I'd congratulate you, but what exactly are you planning to do if we get a pop quiz?"

"Cheat off your paper, of course."

"Tai!"

He laughed again, knowing Sora would let him despite her disapproval. She always did.

Anyway, he had far more pressing matters on his hands. That, and there was no way he could possibly read the first six chapters of _A Tale of Two Cities_ in the next few minutes when he wasn't even six paragraphs into it.

He, Tai Kamiya, was having weird, mixed feelings towards Sora.

Whether he liked her or whether he merely missed having her around as his friend, he wasn't quite sure yet.

"Hey Sora, you have tennis practice today, right?"

She nodded.

"Great! I have soccer practice."

She looked confused at his enthusiasm.

"Er, what I'm saying is that I wasn't planning to stay very long today, so we should do something afterwards."

It was a lie. He knew Coach would kill him if he found out that he'd skip his extra training for something as unimportant as hanging out with a friend, but he was sure he wouldn't get caught.

She winced. "I'm so sorry, Tai, but I can't. Matt has band practice today, so we were going to meet up afterwards and get an early dinner." She paused. "But you're welcome to join us, if you'd like."

He wasn't dense enough to not pick up on the uninviting tone of her invitation, not that he would have taken her up on her offer had he not. Disappointed, he rejected her and looked back down at his book to try and think of another method, but he couldn't think of one that wouldn't include Matt slithering his way in there.

Not that he should have been doing anything like that in the first place. She had a boyfriend, and her boyfriend just happened to be a friend of his too.

However, he countered with himself, he wasn't _technically_ making a pass at her, so it was innocent. He was merely trying to spend time with her as her friend. After all, they had hung out just the two of them countless times over the years, and it had never been considered inappropriate before.

But, he thought again, this time there were underlying, not-so-innocent reasons behind him wanting to hang out with her. Was it wrong? Was it wrong of him to try to get her alone so he could decide whether he liked her or not?

Of course it was! Before anything else, this was Matt's girlfriend he was thinking about, and Matt was his friend. He couldn't do something like that to him. It would break every code of law of friendship that ever existed.

Yes, except, really, Sora had been his friend first.

Argh, this was confusing.

"Kamiya?"

"Huh? What?" He looked up in confusion as several students laughed.

From the front of the classroom, Mr Mizumi frowned. "Mr Kamiya, are you trying to be funny? A simple 'here' will suffice."

Class had somehow started without him noticing, and he quickly apologised and looked over to Sora, who was shaking her head at his inattentiveness.

As Mr Mizumi continued down his attendance sheet, he wondered if she harboured any feelings for him still. Given how nonchalantly she had accepted his compliment earlier with little reaction, he could assume that she didn't, but it wasn't like he had been able to pick up on any of her signs when she had supposedly liked him anyway.

She suddenly turned to make eye contact with him, mouthing a silent, confused, "What?"

He realised he had been staring, and, flustered and caught in the moment, he awkwardly shook his head and turned to stare straight ahead. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Sora was still looking at him, but he pretended not to notice until she too looked away.

* * *

"Davis, give it up already. It's never going to happen. Not in this lifetime or the next or the next!"

"Hey, at least Kari isn't completely disgusted by me the way Ken feels about you!"

Tai was surprised that the evil glares Davis and Yolei gave each other didn't cause the other to explode on the very spot.

"First of all, you're only saying that because you're trying to get back at me for telling you the truth about your sad little life. Secondly, that is _not_ true!"

"He's _my_ friend, Yolei. I know him way better than you do!"

"Well, Kari's _my_ friend, and I'm telling you that she thinks you're a worthless piece of scum!"

"She is not 'your' friend. I was her friend before you even knew who she was! She's _my_ friend!"

Tai cleared his throat to indicate that he was still in their presence. "Both of you need to calm down. Davis, let's go."

"Hold on, Tai," Davis growled, eyes still pointing daggers at Yolei. "Unlike you, Kari isn't a total bitch, so she'd never say anything like that about me even if she did think it!"

"Ha! So you admit there's a chance she'd feel that way about you! Ha, you idiot! Ha!"

"I never said that!"

"And just wait until I tell Kari you called me a bitch! She'll hate you even more!"

"She doesn't hate me, and she probably already thinks the same thing!"

"Ooh, I'm telling her you said she said I was a bitch! You're in for it now, Davis. She'll never talk to you ag—"

"I nev—"

"Stop yelling," Tai interrupted authoritatively, putting up an arm between them. "Kari's never said anything like that about either of you you, so stop having this meaningless fight, and let's go to practice. We're going to be late."

"Hmph!" Yolei huffed, grumbling to herself as she turned her heel and stormed off.

Davis gave Yolei's backside one more hateful glare before he began to walk alongside Tai, also fuming.

"Did Ken really say that about Yolei?" Tai asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. "He's meaner than I thought."

"No," Davis grumbled, "but I'm sure he thinks it. She's absolutely mad. You'd have to have some serious psychological problems to date anyone like that. She's kidding herself if she thinks she has a chance with someone like him. He's just too nice to say anything to her, so I'm doing him a favour by telling it to her like it is." He kicked a wrinkled ball of paper on the hallway floor. "Who the hell does she think she is anyway? Kari would never say that about me…"

Tai rolled his eyes.

Davis' affection for Kari had been endearing when they were younger, but now Tai thought it was crossing into the pathetic territory. Kari was still in that stage of her life where she thought her idealistic Prince Charming would sweep her off her feet and ride off to the sunset with her.

He was fairly certain she didn't consider Davis her Prince Charming.

Not that he was necessarily complaining. As far as he was concerned, the later Kari showed interest in her suitors, the better.

Davis sighed dramatically. "Tai, you're her brother. Tell me the truth. Do you think I have a shot with her?"

"Er…" he stalled. "We don't really talk about things like that. But you know, from what I hear, there's a girl from your English class who has a liking for you."

Davis scowled. "Who cares? Unless that girl is Kari, I'm not interested."

Poor sap indeed.

"Look, no offence, but don't you think you should look elsewhere? I feel like Kari would have let you know by now if she did like you."

Davis sighed again. "As long as she isn't seeing anyone else, everything's fair game." He suddenly grinned. "Besides, wouldn't it be awesome if Kari and I got married, and the two of us became family?"

Tai could think of several things that would not be "awesome" about that.

First, he'd heard Davis' locker room talk. Hell, he'd taken part in them. Such crass and uncouth words did not belong anywhere near his innocent little sister.

Second, Davis' own sister. He _really_ didn't need her anywhere near his sister or his family or him.

Third and most importantly, his sister was fifteen. She shouldn't have even begun to think about marriage yet.

"Shut up," Tai shot down harshly. Davis looked shocked at his sudden response, so he added, "I mean you're both still young. There's no need to think so far into the future."

"Yeah, but I've liked Kari for years!" the younger player protested, Tai's cover-up being good enough for him to return to normal. "I can't give up on her just because she doesn't see me the same way! I mean, maybe I do annoy her sometimes like Yolei says I do, but don't you think it's better that I let Kari see how much I care for her instead of just sitting around and waiting for something to happen?"

Tai felt a headache approaching, beginning to regret having bumped into Davis and Yolei arguing in the middle of the hallway. He didn't realise that stopping would mean he'd turn into some sort of therapist.

"I'm sorry. Is it weird to talk about your sister to me?"

"Yes, very weird," Tai answered immediately.

Davis took the hint and stopped talking, though it appeared that he was now pouting.

They walked from the main building towards the soccer team's changing room, and it was there they saw his aforementioned sister sitting on a bench.

"Kari? What're you doing here?"

She looked up with a smile and held out a wrapped silk bundle to him as she stood up. "Tai, I made this for you yesterday, but I forgot to give it to you this morning."

He took it confusedly.

"They're granola-based biscuits," she explained. "I found a healthy recipe in one of Mum's books. It said these are good source of energy for athletes."

He instantly grew touched by his little sister's gesture. "Thanks, Kar. I'll be sure to eat all of them."

He took a glance at Davis, who was staring at Kari with hopeful eyes.

"Hi Davis," Kari greeted nicely.

"Hi Kari!" he exclaimed loudly, taking a step forward. "You didn't… by any chance… make me… anything… too…?"

She continued to smile kindly at him. "I'm sorry, Davis. I didn't, but maybe you could ask Tai to share. I'm sure he would."

Tai's guilt was reinforced, knowing his sister had just hurt his teammate's feelings. He wondered if Kari knew it too.

"Are you going home?" Tai asked to change the subject.

Kari shook her head. "Nope. TK and I have a class presentation tomorrow, so I'm going over to his place to make sure we have everything set."

"You're going to _TK's_?" Davis cried.

"Is his mum home?" Tai asked in unison.

"She isn't, but we're going there so we can hang out with Yolei and Cody afterwards. You two should come over too after practice!"

"That's kind of weird, isn't it? His mum isn't even home. Why don't you two just go to the library?"

Kari looked puzzled by Tai's suggestion. "Because we're practising for a presentation, and we aren't allowed to talk in the library."

"Why don't you go to our place then since our mum is home?"

"Because we're going to hang out with Yolei and Cody later, so it makes more sense to go to his place since they live in the same flat complex."

"Why don't you go do the presentation at our place, and then just walk over to his place? It isn't that far, and—"

"You're going to _TK's_?" Davis interrupted loudly. "Kari, you aren't… you aren't… you and TK aren't…"

She giggled. "Don't be so silly, Davis. We're just going to do homework. TK and I are only friends. Just like you and me."

Ouch.

He wasn't completely sure when and how Kari had learned to be so cheeky, but he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He certainly didn't want his little sister to grow up to be some sort of heartbreaking tease.

"Anyway, I should leave you two to business," she said with a wave. "Good luck, you guys! Hope practice goes well!"

Davis waved even as she was already walking away, and Tai looked at him piteously.

"You can have some," he offered, holding up the package in his hand.

Davis sighed, turning to the locker room door. "Whatever, it wasn't for me anyway. As long as she isn't seeing TK, I'm fine."

"You don't like him?" Tai queried, wondering how anybody could not like someone as unassuming as TK.

"That isn't it. I just don't like him with Kari," Davis explained absentmindedly. His tone seemed distracted, though his frown was firm. He groaned. "Man, I still can't believe I wasn't put into the same class as Kari this year! High school freaking blows." He threw the door of the changing room open, not even bothering to hold it a second longer for his senior. "I hate it. _He's_ in the same class as her, while I'm stuck with a bunch of stupid kids I don't even know. If the two of them get together, I swear I'll kill myself."

Tai smirked at his dramatics, his amusement from Davis' frustration overpowering his annoyance from his disrespect. "If it makes you feel any better, as her brother I'm obligated to say the same thing."

Davis instantly brightened. "Right? They'd be awful together, right? I'd be better for her, right? Team Davis, right?"

He ignored every question. "So let's just say they really do get together. What would you do? You'd actually kill yourself?"

"Of course not," Davis snapped heatedly, once again forgetting who he was talking to. "I'd obviously just have to break them up."

He chuckled uneasily. "Are you serious? That's a little harsh… and insane."

Davis looked crestfallen. "No, I couldn't do that to her… At least, I don't think I could. It'd have to really happen for me to decide, but it doesn't matter because they won't ever get together. I'm sure of it."

Tai put on a stern face and crossed his arms against his chest for effect. "So let me see if I get this. Are you telling me right now that your happiness is so much more important than hers that you'd be willing to interfere with her hypothetical relationship?"

Davis looked horrified. "Of course not! I'd much rather Kari be happy than me, honest! I just… Not him. It just can't be him." He looked down. "I swear, I wouldn't be able to deal with it."

Tai had merely brought up the scenario for fun, but he was beginning to see that Davis was taking it way more seriously than he thought he would.

"I was only kidding, Davis. I'm sure you'd do the right thing if it came down to it."

"You think I'm horrible, don't you?" Davis muttered. "After all, TK's my friend too. Only a real jerk would think like this."

"Hey, you're human," Tai dismissed with a shrug. "By the way, as her brother, I'm also obligated to forbid you from interfering with her happiness."

"What? I thought you said you were Team Davis!"

"I never said that," he said simply before he walked over to his locker to change.

He wasn't on Team Davis or Team TK. He was on Team Kari, and for now he didn't want either of the boys to win.

* * *

"She punched me with a ring on." Akita pulled up his jersey sleeve to show a small, purple-coloured bruise on his bicep. "Hurt like a bitch."

"Whipped," Tai concluded.

He rolled his sleeve back down. "I'm not whipped. I just like getting some."

"Whatever. You got punched by a girl and bruised. Not only are you whipped, but you're a weak little pansy too."

Coach had once again forced Akita to train with him, but this time Akita had thoughtfully lied to his girlfriend about it beforehand.

However, ten minutes in, both boys were still simply sitting on the field, using Kari's biscuits as an excuse to not yet begin.

"This stuff is amazing," Akita complimented, stuffing another into his mouth. "No wonder Motomiya is all over your sister. If it meant she'd bake for me all the time, I'd date her."

Tai frowned.

What was with underqualified blokes showing interest in Kari?

"You aren't allowed to date her."

"Why not? Better me than Motomiya. At least I'm useful to this team." Akita grinned mischievously, poking Tai with his elbow. "Not to mention that I'm older and more experienced. Kamiya, I would rock your sister's world."

Tai slammed his fist into Akita's bruise, resulting in his teammate howling in pain.

"What the hell?" he groaned, grasping his arm. "That was the cheapest shot you could've done!"

"Want to bet?"

Akita grumbled unhappily and reached for the last biscuit, but Tai quickly swiped it first and ignored the responsive slew of profanities, popping it in his mouth. He would have given it to him too if it weren't for the fact he was being such an ass.

He wiped his hand on the napkin Kari had included and stared at the empty pitch, a lone soccer ball placed in the midfield, unsuccessfully beckoning his name.

None of it appealed to him. He could think of a million things he'd rather do than more soccer.

"Tired?" Akita queried knowingly.

"A little bit."

"Then let's bunk."

Tai frowned at Akita, who looked back hopefully.

"Coach will never find out. It isn't like he's strapped some sort of tracking device on us." Akita lifted a brow. "Or has he already done that with you?"

"No, he just trusts that I'll stay."

He rolled his eyes. "Whipped."

Tai shot him an unappreciative glare and stood up. "All right, let's start then."

Akita groaned as he forced himself up too, but then his sour expression changed to a mischievous grin. "Hey, wait a sec. It's Takenouchi."

Tai didn't turn around. "Yeah, whatever. What do you want to do first?"

Akita ignored Tai, raising an arm to wave. "Sora Takenouchi, what're you doing here?"

"To see you two, obviously."

His eyes widened as the familiar sound of her voice indicated that Akita was not merely fooling around, and he turned to see Sora standing at the edge of the field.

"Sora," he said in mild surprise. "What're you doing here?"

"I just asked her that," Akita pointed out under his breath.

"Matt's band practice was extended, and there wasn't anything he could do about it," Sora explained with a shrug. "I thought since you said you were going to end practice early today, you could be my backup date, but I guess you're still at it?"

'_Backup date.'_

He didn't like the sound of that, but he couldn't dwell on it because Akita spoke up.

"Actually, we—"

"—were just finishing up," Tai finished, nudging him quiet.

Akita gave him a perplexed look.

"Oh, that's perfect. Want to grab some dinner? It's been such a long time since the three of us hung out together."

"We just ate—"

He spoke over Akita's quieter voice. "Sounds great! Give us a minute to change?"

He felt a hard tap on his shoulder.

"Kamiya, a word."

Tai pushed Akita towards the locker rooms and once he was sure they had walked enough to where Sora couldn't hear them anymore, he looked seriously at his teammate.

"Yeah, I need you to not come with us."

Akita once again looked bewildered. "I thought you said you weren't interested in her."

"I'm not. I thought you said you wanted to skip practice."

Akita narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Didn't you tell me the other day that she has a boyfriend?"

"Yes, but he has nothing to do with this. Tell Sora you can't go with us."

"Why should I?"

"Because then I'll tell your girlfriend that you lied to her about practice today, and instead you spent it thinking about my sister. I have her number, by the way. She called me last Friday."

"You're full of cheap shots today, aren't you?" Akita frowned. "I didn't want to go anyway, but what's so important that you're willing to cancel your precious extra training? And that you're trying to blackmail me into not going?"

"None of your business. Just do it."

Akita looked at Tai for any trace of emotion or change in expression, but he maintained his impassive demeanour.

"All right, have it your way. Just don't do anything dumb, Kamiya. I'm not going to pick up the pieces if you do."

* * *

"Tai, I really think you need to invest in a hairdryer."

"Sora, I really think you need to stop becoming Mimi."

She rolled her eyes. "All the better for you, right? You said she's a nine out of ten."

"What? I never said that." He furrowed his brow, genuinely unable to recall a time he had ever said it.

"Last year at our anniversary. You told Yolei I was a six, and then you said Mimi was a nine. Don't try to hide it, Tai. She told me."

Oh.

He vaguely remembered saying something along those lines, but it was under completely unfair circumstances. One, he had been a little drunk and would've said anything. Two, Mimi had purposely dressed up that night to prove that she could get Joe or Izzy or somebody to do as she pleased, and it wasn't his fault that the combination of tight dresses, alcohol and teenage hormones had impaired his judgment.

"I never said that," he repeated firmly. "I think you're prettier than Mimi. Maybe I said she's a six and you're a nine, and Yolei got confused."

She didn't falter. "Don't even try to save yourself, Tai. I know you said it, you jerk."

He frowned but didn't have a chance to defend himself, as they had reached the designated restaurant and, to his horror, Sora reached for the door.

He jutted forward to grab the handle before she could, opening it for her.

"Jesus, Sora, let me open the door for you!"

She looked at him, puzzled, as if he had never opened the door for her before, which he had.

"What?"

"It's just a door, Tai," she said as she walked past him and into the restaurant. "Anyway, it's okay if you said I was a six because I told Yolei that you were a five."

He stopped walking. "A five? Are you serious? I'm a _five_?"

She unsuccessfully tried to hide a smirk.

"What the hell? At least I had the courtesy of ranking you in the upper half!"

She shrugged. "She told me to tell the truth, so I told her the truth. Where do you want to sit?"

His frown deepened, even though he knew she was lying and that it was only a stupid question that didn't mean anything.

"What'd you rank Matt?"

"Ten, obviously."

"You gave _me_ a five and _him_ a ten?"

He couldn't believe this.

Of all the insulting—

"Tai, come on. It's _Matt_. Who wouldn't rank him a ten?"

"I sure as hell wouldn't," he muttered.

He didn't notice her smirk widen as she pushed him into their usual booth before sitting across from him, nor did he notice that he had started to grumble under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Anyway, get whatever you want to eat. I'll pay for you since I still owe you for the time at the yakai tent."

His train of thought was again shifted back to her with her suggestion. "Sora, no!"

She looked puzzled again.

"I know we're friends and all, but I'm a guy too. Don't damage my pride by opening the door or telling me I'm a five or paying for my dinner! I'll pay. Really, it isn't a big deal."

Okay, perhaps now she had a reason to be confused. He rarely ever paid for her in the years that they had known each other, save the odd cheap snack or so, but she often spotted him too.

"Sora, I have so much money. I want to spend it."

She laughed at his joke. "Wow, Tai. I didn't realise you were so rich. You'd make a good boyfriend."

"Don't tell me Matt's the kind of guy who makes you pay for your own food." He smirked, secretly pleased that Matt wasn't as perfect as she thought he was.

"No, he isn't like that at all." She sighed and lowered her voice. "But if I'm being completely honest with you, I don't really like that he pays. It makes me feel really bad. I'd rather split costs, you know?"

"You'd make a good girlfriend."

She laughed once more, and they spent the rest of the dinner to catch up on each other's lives, stopping only to talk to their waitress when necessary.

"This is nice," Sora brought up suddenly. "We haven't really had a chance to talk a lot in the past month or so."

"Yeah, I guess not," he agreed, though in reality he hadn't really noticed.

She crossed her arms in feigned irritation. "It's all your fault, you know. If you weren't so obsessed with soccer…"

"How funny. I think it's more because you have a boyfriend now. I've been playing soccer since I was old enough to walk. Your relationship started about a month ago, did it not?"

She seemed to think it over before she winced.

"You're right. I'm really sorry, Tai."

He found himself unexpectedly feeling guilty over how she was feeling guilty and, burdened, felt the need to lighten the atmosphere.

"You know what else you should be sorry for?"

"What?"

"That you ranked me as a five and Matt as a ten. You realise the fact that you're telling me he's a ten while you're dating him is extremely gross and makes me very uncomfortable, right?"

She laughed. "Tai, I can't believe you're still thinking about that!"

"I said you were a six!"

"Yeah, and that Mimi was a nine!"

"Fine, I take it back then."

"You can't do that. It's too late. You're only going to rank me higher because you want me to change my mind too."

"Hmph, who said anything about ranking you higher? You're now a four, and Mimi's an eleven."

"It's out of ten, Tai."

"She's beyond a ten. That's how hot she is."

"Well then, why don't you ask her out?"

His eyes widened at the mere suggestion. "Because why would I ever do that to myself? This is supposed to be a ranking of hotness, not a ranking of compatibility. Unlike you, I'm not shallow, so I look past physical appearances."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, because Nanami and Kaori are prime examples of ugly girls with beautiful personalities."

"Nanami's personality was fine," Tai protested, "but I'll give you Kaori. That one was a mistake."

"'That one'? Tai, you're talking about a human being! You are _such_ a—"

She continued to lecture him, and while this was usually how their little arguments would start, this time he found himself more amused by her irritation than anything else.

"—I mean, how would it make you feel if somebody referred to you as if you were some sort of object?"

"Bad," he answered dismissively. "By the way, just wondering, does Matt know you're out with me right now?"

She frowned at his sudden change in subject. "Yes, why?"

He shrugged.

"I mean, it's a little weird, isn't it? I know we're friends, and I know Matt and I are friends too, but it's still a little weird to hang out with you now. I just wanted to make sure he knew."

"Tai, I cannot even believe you're saying this to me right now."

She looked visibly upset, setting down her fork and straightening her back as she frowned at him.

"What? You don't think this is just the tiniest bit weird?"

"Not at all!" she replied vehemently. "We've been friends since we were in primary school, and you're telling me _now_ that it's weird to hang out with me because I have a boyfriend?"

He shrugged. "Lots of guys wouldn't be okay with that."

"Well, that's the difference between them and Matt. You're too good of a friend of mine, Tai. If Matt couldn't accept that, I couldn't be with him."

He was pleased with her response, but he forced himself not to show it on his face.

"Tai, promise me you won't ever think like that again."

He didn't say anything not because he didn't want to promise her, but because he was thinking.

He had spent the weekend thinking about it. He had spent the day trying to get her alone so he could confirm it for himself.

Did he like her? Did she still like him?

He had to know.

"You know what, Sor? I think Matt got extremely lucky to get a girl like you."

He didn't even blink, watching for her reaction.

She grew flustered and red—redder than he had ever seen her get by anything he had ever said to her before.

Was it because she was flattered?

Or was it because she was still interested in him?

"Shut up, Tai. Eat your dinner."

With that, she picked up her fork once again and began to pick at the bites of food she had already claimed earlier that she wouldn't eat.

He blinked, confused.

She had avoided commenting altogether.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

He hadn't a clue.

* * *

He walked her home despite her protests, and he found himself feeling a little bad once again because she had made such a big deal about it.

Was it also that rare for him to walk her home?

It wasn't even that much farther away than his own home.

"This was nice, Sor," he said when they reached the front door of her flat complex.

The same spot he had seen Matt and her a month prior.

She turned to face him and nodded. "It really was. We should do this more often. Make time for me, Tai."

He grinned. "Deal."

She outstretched her hand. "Shake on it."

He chuckled and placed his own over hers.

Her hand was warm, and he didn't let go.

"Tai, what's wrong?"

He looked at her quizzically, not understanding what she was talking about.

"Your hand is shaking." She frowned and abruptly let go of his hand. "I knew it! You're still pushing yourself, aren't you? What if I hadn't come today, Tai? Would you still be at that stupid soccer field?"

His hand tingled with the absence of her touch, and he rolled his fingers into a fist before placing it in his blazer pocket.

He hadn't even realised it was shaking.

"I wasn't. Akita and I were just hanging out after practice. We weren't doing anything."

It was true. They had _planned_ to train more, but aside from his regular, obligatory practice with the rest of the squad, he hadn't really done anything extra.

"Maybe I have an iron deficiency," he joked.

She didn't look amused.

He took out his hand from his pocket once more, opening his palm to her. "See? It's stopped."

Her expression didn't change, so he began to shake his hand violently.

"Tai!" she hissed, though he could tell she was also trying to suppress laughter.

"Go on up," he suggested, bringing his arm back to his side.

"You're so impossible!" Her voice seemed frustrated, but her light expression stated otherwise. "Fine, good night, Tai."

"Good night."

She pulled him into a hug, something she had done hundreds of times, yet this one felt different. He was rendered speechless, stiffening as another panicked feeling rushed through his system. The feeling was so foreign he couldn't even make out what it meant.

Sora didn't seem to notice. She pulled away, wished him a safe walk home and disappeared inside. He was left at the doorstep, frozen still.

He stood like that for a good minute until it came to him what the feeling was, and he found it wasn't so foreign after all.

It was guilt.

It wasn't the most guilty he'd ever felt before, but it was the first time his guilt had been directed to something like this.

He did like Sora—more than a friend.

She had a boyfriend, Matt.

But his guilt wasn't due to the fact that he was returning his taken friend's feelings a month too late, nor was it necessarily the fact that he was interested in his friend's girlfriend.

It was the fact that he selfishly didn't care.

He had always been the type of person who did things his own way. Others followed him, and that was fine with him as long as they didn't try to alter his goals. He was a leader and a go-getter, and once he set his mind on something, he did whatever it took to achieve it. He knew people had a tendency to think he was lacking in the brain department, but the way he looked at it, he was merely selective. Up until he entered high school, he had been terrible at economics because he hadn't cared about it, but when he found out he needed to raise his scores in order to stay on the soccer team, by the end of the term he had one of the highest grades in his class—even higher than Sora's. It was why he was able to receive scholarship offers where his teammates couldn't. He hadn't been born a good footballer; he had worked for it. Yes, he had to sacrifice a lot to get to this point. His love life had been non-existent for the past year, his diet was painfully void of his favourite foods, his friends were annoyed of his lack of presence—but it would all be worth it. This was his dream. In five years, he wouldn't remember the girl he could've dated, or what he had for dinner, or what party his friends had attended that he hadn't.

So for anybody else, he would have pushed the emotion aside without another thought. It was dangerously selfish and disturbingly wrong, crossing over so many levels of immoral.

But this was Sora.

Granted, she had changed from the tomboyish girl he had once known. He missed that girl and all that she was, but current-day Sora wasn't so bad either. And she liked him!

Well, at least, he hoped she still did.

The only thing that stood in his way was Matt Ishida, and as much of an arse as it made him, he couldn't bring it upon himself to feel bad for what he was going to do to him.

After all, this was Sora.

He knew her better than Matt ever wished he could.

* * *

He raised an eyebrow at his younger brother. He had come over to TK's flat to drop off a book he had borrowed, only to run into him outside his flat door, a large, red stain covering the front of his school uniform. There were even traces of it on his hair and skin. TK claimed he had come from Cody's flat, but it still didn't explain the stain.

"Davis accidentally spilled a jar of salsa on me," TK answered, making his way to the linen closet.

"Accidentally?" Matt queried. "Or 'accidentally'?" He held up his fingers as inverted commas.

"Maybe on accident, probably on purpose," TK guessed with a shrug.

Matt rolled his eyes. "That kid…"

"He's jealous because Kari and I have a presentation together." TK tousled the towel through his hair before rubbing it against his face and neck. "He just wanted to hang out with Kari tonight without me being in the way, so it isn't a big deal. He's harmless."

"I don't care if it's harmless. It still makes him an arse."

TK grinned a little as he disappeared into his room, presumably to change, so Matt took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and situated himself on the dining table as he waited.

"You shouldn't let him do things like that to you."

TK walked out again, now in a plain white t-shirt. "I know he's a little immature, but he's still my friend. He does passive-aggressive things like this sometimes, but he's usually not like this so it's nothing to get bent out of shape over. Kari told me he's been having a really rough time on the soccer team too, and you know he doesn't handle stress that well. It'd be worse if I got angry."

"I guess you're just more patient than I am," Matt concluded. "Anyway, I've never seen anyone work so hard to fend off guys from a girl who isn't even his girlfriend."

"That's Davis for you." TK sat across from him, sighing contently at his newly dry state. "Speaking of girlfriends, how's Sora?"

"She's having dinner with Tai."

TK raised an eyebrow. "Nice."

"They're friends."

"I didn't say anything." He smiled.

"I'm not jealous."

"I didn't say anything." His smile widened.

"Your facial expressions are talking for you," Matt said irritably. Unlike himself, TK wasn't really any good at concealing how he truly felt. He wasn't particularly talkative either, but Matt could read him like a book.

He let out a small laugh. "I'm sorry. It's just that you were so worried about him before you two started dating, but I told you they were just friends."

"I wasn't worried. I just took him into consideration."

"You took everything into consideration," TK corrected. "Anyway, you two are together now, so everything worked out. I'm glad."

"Yeah."

Matt felt he owed a lot to his brother. TK easily knew him better than any of his other friends, and Matt found that the baby brother he once thought TK was had grown into the only person who truly understood him. Furthermore, he couldn't help but think that without TK's help, he'd still be pursuing his girlfriend. Even though TK had been so awkward about it, he had genuinely tried his best to get Matt and Sora together, and his friendlier, more sociable personality had often filled the void that Matt couldn't get past. He had liked her for a few weeks before he gathered the courage to say anything, and really it had been TK who convinced him to talk to her at that one party he had forced Matt to go to. TK also admitted to essentially dragging Sora backstage at his concert, not to mention that horribly awkward albeit successful attempt to get everyone else to play billiards in order to get them two alone. Matt had told himself that night that he would scold TK for that little number, but he dismissed the thought when it also turned out to be the night Sora finally agreed to go out with him.

"Hey," TK said suddenly. "Want to stay for dinner? Mum'll be home soon. It'll be fun."

TK looked quite excited at the suggestion, which only made it harder for Matt to reject him.

"I can't. If I don't cook for Dad, he'll starve." He looked at the clock on the wall. "Come to think of it, I should probably leave now. Thanks for the book again, and we'll do dinner soon."

"Oh. Okay. It's no problem." TK stood up after Matt and began to walk behind him towards the door. "Tell Dad I said hello."

"I will. Are you going back up to Cody's?"

TK smiled lightly. "I don't think so. I have to shower and do homework and stuff, so I'll give this one to Davis."

Matt shook his head and rolled his eyes. Davis was a nice kid, but he'd be lying if he said his antics didn't bother him at times. He tangled himself too much in other people's business, got too upset when things didn't work in his favour.

Anyway, Davis could consider himself lucky to have selected his milder brother as his rival rather than Matt.

"Bye," TK said, waving.

Matt nodded and closed the door behind him before taking out his mobile on the way to the elevator.

No new messages.

Sora was most likely back home already. She was probably tired from tennis practice or busy studying for her quiz the next day and had just forgotten to let him know she had made it back. She couldn't possibly still be with Tai after so many hours.

Not that it mattered, because he wasn't jealous.

He wasn't.

He wasn't.

He put his mobile back in his pocket and tried to force himself to think about something else.

He'd call her later.

* * *

This chapter marks where the story really begins. Even though this is a Taiora fic, it was always planned to centre around Tai. I'm glad it only took three years to get it to this point, ha. Most of the story so far has been in Sora's POV, but starting now, we'll be seeing much more of Tai's thoughts—as well as a few other supporting characters'!

Hint-of-a-spoiler warning: Please be patient with Tai's character. In a story where the main character is chasing a taken woman, there is no real way of not making him at least a little bit of a jerk. I'm so nervous he'll be ill-received!

The Takari/Daikari bit is just for comparison reasons. They won't be featured much at all.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry this took so long. If I'm honest, it's because I just didn't want to write it, ha. It is a bit of a filler, but I couldn't bring myself to delete all the unnecessary events as they were some of the first scenes I ever wrote for _A Losing Game_. Nevertheless, the overall chapter does have a point, and I hope I was able to properly convey it.

In other news, I made a timeline for this because I couldn't keep track of how much time had passed anymore. For anyone interested, this chapter takes place six weeks and two days after the events of the first chapter, so Matt and Sora have been dating for a three weeks and five days. The first chapter took place in the second week of May, meaning is it now the third week of June. I know it's not too important, but I'm neurotic and really enjoy little details.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 12**

Izzy should have known better than to believe Tai when he had asked him to come over to help him with maths.

Tai's sudden interest in his Calculus homework should have been his first clue.

The fact that it was a Saturday morning should have been his second.

From the dining table, Izzy watched his friend pace around his flat, arms crossed and looking very much deep in thought. In one hand, he was clutching his house telephone and what appeared to be some sort of card. He hadn't really said anything to Izzy yet, aside from letting him inside and half-heartedly offering something to drink.

Izzy took the final sip of his tea, debating whether he should take it upon himself to be the first to say something. He couldn't remember the last time Tai had seemed so on edge, and he almost felt rude to interrupt his thought process.

Still, it had been nearly half an hour. It wasn't like he had all day to watch Tai aimlessly walk around back and forth.

"So is there a reason you invited me over?"

Tai stopped and stared straight at him.

"Izzy."

"…Yes?"

He jumped a little as Tai suddenly took the seat in front of him, looking very serious as he stared right at him.

"I'm about to tell you something that you aren't ever allowed to repeat to anyone else, even if your life depended on it."

"…All right."

"Or I'll kill you," Tai added without an ounce of humour.

Izzy gulped.

As he knew from experience, Tai was capable of doing some very stupid things. Whether it was blindly walking through electrocuted fences or hitting computers in a counterproductive attempt to get them to work, Tai had always been the kind of person who acted first and thought later.

He had even once relieved himself on the main statue of a rival school, claiming it had been justified because "they're assholes, Izzy."

Being Tai's friend, he often turned a blind eye, but that last one in particular had left him quite scarred. While he hadn't been an accomplice, he had been a spectator, and he had worried enough to make Joe proud. Tai had also threatened his life with that "secret," though it turned out the entire soccer team, coach included, knew about it.

He wasn't entirely sure if he could go through that kind of stress again.

"Did you break a law?"

Tai's expression altered from one of solemnity to that of confusion. "No, what? What're you talking about?"

Izzy shook his head. "Nothing. Just tell me."

Tai tapped a finger against the side of the table for a few seconds, looking troubled as to whether or not he should tell Izzy what he wanted to say.

"Okay," Tai gave in finally. He shut his eyes, opened them, took a breath. "I called you here to help me with a plan."

…

He didn't get it. That was what Tai had gotten so worked up about?

"What kind of plan?" Izzy asked. "For maths?" Pause. "You aren't going to ask me to help you cheat on an exam, are you?"

Tai looked confused again, seemingly forgetting that maths was what he had used to lure Izzy to come over in the first place.

Tai impatiently waved a hand to reject Izzy's guess.

"No. I need you to help me impress Sora."

…

He couldn't have heard that correctly.

"Come again?"

"Sora. I need to win her over somehow. You and I are both good at thinking of plans, so let's think of one."

Izzy stared at Tai for any traces of humour. Tai was known to make practical jokes often. This had to be one of them.

First and foremost, he had never gotten the impression that Tai was interested in Sora.

Second, given how close the two of them were, there was no reason Tai wouldn't know of her current relationship status with Matt.

Third, he couldn't understand why Tai was asking _him_ of all people. He was good with computers, not girls. At any rate, Tai had definitely had more luck in that department than he had.

"Er, why?"

"Because I like her, obviously." He looked on edge, tapping the table with the card in his hand. "That's the part you can't tell anyone, by the way. Izzy, I'm so serious. You're the only person I'm telling this to, so if you repeat it, I _will _kill you."

"I won't say anything," he promised. "But… er… ah… you know… erm…"

"Just say it," Tai barked irritably.

"Sora's dating Matt," Izzy reminded him, careful not to make it sound like he was questioning Tai's intelligence.

Which he wasn't.

He was only questioning his sanity.

Tai waved his hand again, as if he had heard only an irrelevant piece of information that served nothing more than a minor inconvenience. "I know that, but listen to this. Before Sora started to date Matt, she liked _me_. So why is she with him? I think maybe it's because I didn't like her back at the time."

Izzy said the only thing that came to mind.

"What?"

"Izzy, I called you here because you're supposed to be smart," Tai snapped before repeating what he had said once more.

He was so speechless that Tai's insult didn't even register in his mind.

"So you're saying that Sora liked you, but you didn't like her."

"Yes."

"But now that Sora is dating Matt, you like her."

"Not _because_ she's dating Matt. It just happened to time out this way. But yes, technically, I didn't like her until after she started dating him."

"And you're implying that Sora is dating Matt… to make you jealous?"

"No. Yes. Not really. I don't know. I just know she liked me, I didn't see it and now she's dating him."

He didn't say anything else, rendered speechless once again. He'd never say it aloud, but he wasn't quite sure whether he should even believe Tai. He knew that Tai had been under a lot of pressure lately. Perhaps he was stressed to the point he had become delirious.

Yes, that had to be it.

Tai was capable of doing stupid things like unintentionally almost killing himself and destroying expensive equipment and illegally going to the toilet on private property, but one thing Izzy knew Tai wouldn't do was sabotage two of his closest friends. For as reckless and senseless and spontaneous as Tai could be, his morals were in place. He never wronged anyone or compromised anyone's standing for his own selfish gain.

Of this Izzy was certain. He had been on the benefactor side of Tai's munificence countless times.

"Anyway, I've thought about it for a week already, and I've finally come up with the perfect plan," Tai continued, still acting as if what he just said wasn't any news at all.

For now, Izzy decided he would play along.

"So then why did you call me?"

"Because you're needed in the plan. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered to fill you in." Tai put the phone and card he had been carrying around in front of Izzy. "I need you to call Mimi and ask her what I should do for Sora."

"What!" Izzy cried out in shock. "Why?"

"Because I don't know what to do, and Mimi's good with things like this."

"I mean why do _I_ have to call her?"

"Because she already knows that I know that Sora liked me at one point. At least if you call her, it'll just sound like you're calling her for girl advice." Tai raised an eyebrow, as if he thought Izzy's reaction was completely unjustified. "Come on, it's not like it'll be hard."

Izzy was mortified. He couldn't do that. He would _never_ do that.

But Tai had already begun punching in the numbers on the phone.

"What? No! Tai, I can't—"

"It's ringing," Tai interrupted, holding the phone to Izzy's ear.

With a sigh, he begrudgingly took the phone from Tai's hand. Tai was the kind of person who always got his way one way or another. He might as well save the time he could spend disputing with him, for he already knew Tai would win eventually.

He sighed again as it rang.

"Don't be dramatic," Tai scolded quickly.

"Hello?"

He hadn't heard her voice in so long that he had forgotten how chirpy and bubbly it could be—the complete opposite of how he felt. He hadn't contacted her in a while. He was sure she'd say something about that too.

He cleared his throat. "Hi Mimi. It's Izzy."

"Wow, Izzy! What a nice surprise! How are you?"

"I'm fine…" He glanced at Tai, who was tapping a finger against his elbow impatiently. "How about yourself?"

"Oh, I'm just perfect! I'm about to head out for the night."

"You must not have time to talk then," he hinted hopefully.

"No, of course I do! I always make time for old friends. I like being late anyway. You know, a girl should _always_ be fashionably late, and she should never run no matter how late she is!"

"Is that a fact." He cleared his throat again, trying to summon the courage to go so against his character just for the sake of Tai's mad, thoughtless scheme. "So how was your day?"

He made eye contact with Tai, who silently mouthed, "Quit stalling."

"Well, I went to school, and now I'm about to go out to this really fun party my friend is throwing." She giggled excitedly. "You know, if you guys would visit me in New York more often, I could introduce you to all my friends. They're really nice, and body language gets you really far in this country. I should know because that's what I had to rely on when I first moved here. Hee, but since you're so smart, I bet your marks in English are superb, right?"

His mind began to spin. He had forgotten just how talkative she could be.

"So, anyway, I, ah, have a question to ask you. Er, actually, I need advice."

"Ooh!" She squealed excitedly. "You're calling _me_ for advice? Izzy, I'm so flattered! What could it be about? A girl?"

He felt himself go red.

"Er, actually, yes."

She giggled fiercely for what felt like was a good minute, though a glimpse at the phone indicated it had only lasted fifteen seconds. "Izzy, you _dog_! I can't believe you have a girl in your life now! Wow, you've really changed. I remember when you would make me cry with your thick-headedness, and now you're off to—" She gasped. "You made her cry, didn't you? You made her cry, and that's why you're calling me for advice, aren't you?"

He wasn't quite sure why she was suddenly bringing this up.

"No, it's nothing like that. She isn't my girlfriend."

"Ooooh! You have a _crush_!" More fierce giggling. "Izzy, you don't understand. I simply_must_ know everything that happened! Tell me everything! What does she look like? Where did you meet her? Is she smart? Was it love at first sight? Do you think she's the most beautiful girl you've ever seen? You know, Izzy, if you'd just call once in a while, we wouldn't have to waste so much time covering the basics like this—"

Izzy shot Tai an unappreciative look, holding out the phone to him so that he too could hear Mimi's overenthusiastic babbling.

Tai showed no sympathy, simply waving a hand to tell him to listen.

He held the device back to his ear.

"—Does she like computers? Is she shorter than you?"

"Er, anyway, I think I like her, but I don't know how to express myself. How do you think I could let her know I care about her in a way that would impress her?"

Tai wrote something down on a notepad and gave it to him.

"That would also be manly," Izzy read.

She squealed again, giggled again and wouldn't stop. Across from him, Tai too began to look amused, a mocking smirk cracking his serious guise.

"Aww, Izzy, you are just the _cutest_ little thing I know! I'm so happy you called me to ask this! You know, I happen to be the master of relationships. My friends ask me for advice all the time. I'd be more than happy to help you out with your girl problems too."

He couldn't tell if he was more embarrassed or offended. They were the same age, after all. It wasn't like she was vastly wiser than him, if at all.

"Thanks," he muttered, trying to sound grateful.

"So how long have you and your crush known each other?"

"Er, since we were in primary school." He couldn't remember if Tai had known Sora before then, but at the very least, he was sure they knew each other by grade one.

"_Oooooohhh_!" Even Tai jumped at the shrillness of her voice, and she wasn't even on speakerphone. "Primary school! I know her, don't I? Tell me, Izzy! Please? I promise won't tell anyone! It's not like I can from all the way over here anyway."

Izzy mentally kicked himself for the mistake. How could he have forgotten that he and Mimi used to be in the same classes?

"N-no, you don't know her. Anyway, she—"

"Come on, Izzy! You're stuttering, so obviously you're trying to lie to me. I promise I'm really good at keeping secrets. I know I seem like I wouldn't, but I really am! Please, Izzy? Pleeeease?"

"No, you really don't know who she is. Anyway, I—"

"Is it Taako?"

"No."

"Is it Mina?"

"No."

Tai impatiently pointed to his wrist to indicate this was taking longer than he wanted.

Izzy impatiently pointed to the telephone to indicate it wasn't his fault.

"Is it… hmm… let me think. Gosh, I can't remember all the girls from our class. You know, I think I still have our class address book around here somewhere. You should just tell me who it is now and save me the trouble of finding out myself. You know I will."

"No, Mimi, I promise you don't know her," Izzy repeated firmly.

"Is it me?"

He was caught so off-guard that he choked on air and began to cough. Tai looked at him quizzically, which also made him turn red.

"Don't die, Izzy. I was only joking." She sighed dramatically. "Fine, you don't have to tell me, but I _will_ find out. And once I do, I'll make fun of you forever and tell everyone we know. That's what you get for not cooperating."

He didn't doubt her stalking skills, but surely it would be impossible for her to find a girl who didn't exist.

"But before I help you with anything, I have to know something."

"What is it?"

"_Why_ haven't you been writing me?"

"You want to know why I'm not writing you?" he repeated aloud, so Tai would understand that their conversation had once again taken a detour.

Tai groaned silently, slapping a hand to his forehead in frustration. He then stood up and walked to his bedroom, evidently too bored to stick around.

* * *

"Mimi said to buy Sora flowers," Izzy reported twenty minutes later. He took out the notepad he had used to jot down notes and began to read off it in monotone. "Don't buy a random bouquet because it shows you're lazy and not committed. Instead, you should pick out each individual flower yourself after extensive research of the symbolism behind each one. And in case you ever need to know, Mimi likes pink roses and lilies."

He scowled, which Tai either didn't see or chose to ignore.

"Flowers? That's her brilliant plan? I could have thought of that myself." Tai crossed his arms and furrowed his brows in thought. "I guess I could go pick out some flowers."

Izzy shrugged.

"But how do I know which ones to get? Sora doesn't like pink."

Izzy shrugged again.

"Damn it. I'm a soccer player, not a flower girl!" Tai stood up from his bed and walked over to his desk. "Do you know anything about flowers?"

"Er, not really… I could tell you about their biology, but not really anything past that."

"Useless," Tai muttered as he sat down on his chair and swivelled it around so that his back was now facing Izzy.

He wasn't offended, too preoccupied holding in the urge to correct Tai. He was fairly certain flower girls weren't the people actually in charge of selecting the bouquet but were the young girls who merely carried it down the aisle. Tai had meant to say a florist or even a wedding planner and—

Anyway, he was sure Tai didn't care. He had pulled out his laptop and his one-track mind was already fixated on it.

"Found one!" he announced, holding up the screen for Izzy to see. "'Symbolism of Flowers.' Ha, can you believe there are crazies out there who are dumb enough to believe in this load of bullocks? People will believe anything."

Izzy also held in the urge to remind him that "load of bullocks" was what Sora's mother did for a living.

"And print," Tai said, almost as if he were commanding the computer to do as he wanted. He turned his chair again to look at Izzy. "This is great. I'll go to a florist, buy a bunch of flowers and Sora will have to fall in love with me. Easy."

He couldn't have been serious, though his expression stated otherwise.

This had gone on far enough.

"Hey Tai?"

"Yes?" he asked distractedly, practically pulling the paper out of the printer with impatience.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

There were a hundred things he could have said as a satisfying answer. There was no question that Tai was not acting like his normal self. True, Tai did have a tendency to get impatient and irritable, but the majority of the time he was a pleasant person. Right now, he was acting like he had gone a week without any sleep and only coffee—fidgety, touchy and a little mental.

If nothing else, _what_ could possibly be going on in that head of his that made him decide this was a good idea—or even a plan to ever consider. Had he honestly given this a moment's thought, or was he acting on impulse? In what universe did giving an arrangement of flowers automatically signal a transfer of romantic feelings? If it were that simple, Izzy would have been a girl magnet by now.

Surely, Tai had to know that giving Sora flowers would do nothing more than maybe freak her out. Surely, something was wrong with him. Surely, he himself had to have realised it as well.

Instead of pointing out any of these, he said, "No reason. You aren't stressed?"

"Not really."

Tai seized the printed article and began to read over it, occasionally jotting something down. It was the first time Izzy had ever seen Tai study anything so diligently.

Seeing him so concentrated, Izzy decided to leave him be, but he still wasn't convinced. He knew Tai handled pressure well and could very well take care of himself, but Izzy couldn't get rid of a nagging feeling. Tai was definitely acting weird, and personally he thought the most perplexing part was that Tai himself did not see it.

If he would go through with this, he would ruin at least one friendship, if not all three.

And why now? Why had he decided he suddenly liked Sora _now_? In the decade or so that he had known her, what could have possibly made him decide to like her right after she got a boyfriend?

He didn't have time to think it further, as Tai suddenly stood up from his chair, looking triumphant.

"Okay, I'm going to buy flowers. You stay here."

Izzy's eyes widened by the suggestion. "You mean by myself?" Tai nodded. "Isn't that weird? What if your parents come home, and I'm here by myself?"

"Tell them I'll be home soon. Here, you like computers, so play with this." Tai took his laptop and gave it to him. "I'll be back soon."

He set the laptop aside and followed Tai out of his room. "Tai, wait, I really think you should think about this again. You're about to buy _flowers_. For _Sora_."

Tai stopped and blinked. "What? Do you think flowers aren't enough? She isn't very fussy, Izzy."

Dumbstruck again by Tai's unawareness, he couldn't stop him from opening the front door of his flat.

He heard a loud meow.

"Miko, what are you doing out here?" Tai picked up his cat, which meowed again unappreciatively. He held it under his arm like a football and walked back inside. "Your mummy will kill me if she finds out I let you out again." He looked at Izzy, who remembered the animal zooming by when Tai had opened the door for him earlier. "She's so old and stupid that Kari thinks an owl will catch and eat her." He looked at the cat again. "Isn't that right, Miko? You're old and stupid, and you're going to die soon." He kissed the top of Miko's head before setting her down on the floor. "Okay, I'm leaving for real now."

With that, he shut the door, leaving Izzy by himself.

With Miko.

Temporarily, Izzy would have to set Tai's problem aside for his new one.

He wasn't particularly fond of animals, and Tai's pet cat was no exception. Carefully paying attention to Miko's movements, Izzy made his way to the couch and sat down.

He remembered when he had first seen Miko back when he was ten. She had been like any ordinary cat. A little inattentive, a lot sassy, avoided getting too close to people. She did as she pleased, but overall she had been quite docile.

But that was seven years ago, and she had since grown older, plumper and crankier.

She was staring at Izzy, so he carefully lifted his feet off the floor and tucked them under his legs. Tai had once shown him a scratch mark he had received from the animal. It had looked nothing short of a knife wound.

To his discomfort, Miko jumped up onto the couch and snuggled right beside him. He sat up perfectly still and stayed in that position until the animal eventually fell asleep with her head between the crevice of Izzy's back and the couch.

He looked around, wondering exactly what he had done to Tai that was making him do this to him. The calling of Mimi, the cat, the waste of a Saturday.

Most importantly, he didn't feel right meddling in Matt and Sora's relationship. As far as he could tell, the two of them seemed happy, and he personally felt like Tai had no business trying to get between them. He wasn't quite sure he understood why Tai suddenly felt the need to do this because for as long as he had known Tai, he was usually an easy-going, laidback guy.

The gears in his head turned and several theories were thrown out at him. Tai was stressed, Tai was mentally ill, Tai was jealous.

The last one struck a chord. It took a lot to get Tai jealous, but he was human and definitely capable of being it.

And who better to spark Tai's envy than Matt Ishida?

Yes, yes. It was definitely possible.

Perhaps his sudden interest stemmed from his and Matt's subconscious desire to constantly try to one-up each other.

It was no secret that the two of them shared a history. Despite their very different exteriors, they had similar qualities that allowed them to be unconventional friends rather than two people who simply wanted nothing to do with each other. Both highly competitive and rather hot-headed, it wouldn't be the first time one of them had allowed their wariness of the other to consume himself.

It was a stretch to assume their relatively harmless rivalry would induce Tai's affection towards Sora, but it wasn't completely out of the question either.

Anyway, whatever it was, he certainly didn't want to get involved, and to be honest he was a little annoyed that Tai had chosen to throw him into this mess in the first place. He rather enjoyed being blissfully unaware of others' emotional distress.

When Tai got home, he would tell him so. Tai would understand.

Until then, he'd just use Tai's laptop to check up on the daily news and forget all about Tai's maniacal scheme.

He stood up but froze upon realising that he had awakened the cat, who jumped up in surprise. She arched her back and almost seemed to glare at him, not that he could read what an animal was feeling in the first place.

Now what?

* * *

He quite regretted his premature judgment of Tai's cat, as Miko proved to be entirely inquisitive.

Yes, she was quite intelligent for a domesticated animal. Her sense of communication was cleverly effective, such as her refusal to lose Izzy's attention to Tai's laptop by placing her body on top of it.

A few minutes ago, she had stuck her head in Izzy's empty cup, and after some consideration, he had concluded she was thirsty.

Now, he was crouched near her bowl, watching her drink because, quite frankly, it wasn't like he had anything better to do in Tai's flat. Carefully, he reached out a hand and scratched her ears. She hissed, and he pulled back, a little disappointed that the last hour they had shared together hadn't solidified their friendship.

"What are you doing?"

Alarmed, Izzy looked up and saw Tai looking down at him.

"Er…" He quickly stood up. He hadn't even heard the door open. "Nothing. I gave your cat some water."

Tai seemed uninterested. "Oh. I didn't know you liked animals. Anyway, look!" Tai held out a colourful bouquet of flowers to Izzy's face. "Pretty impressive, huh? The lady in the store helped me arrange them." He placed it on his counter. "I can't believe girls get so caught up on a bunch of stupid plants."

Izzy had to admit that given Tai's knowledge and inexperience of picking out a bouquet that would be appealing to the female sex, he had assumed Tai would be completely inept at it.

However, he was admittedly impressed with his skill. He didn't know much about flowers himself, but at the very least he could tell Tai's arrangement was pretty.

"So you're really going to give those to her?"

"No, Izzy, I'm going to give them to my mum. That's why I just spent nearly ¥10,000 on a bunch of flowers." Tai looked annoyed, frowning at the bouquet. "Who knew flowers were so stupid expensive? I thought the lady was joking when she told me how much it was."

Izzy had planned to tell Tai that he wanted nothing to do with this, but just as he was about to say it, he couldn't help but feel like he at least owed it to Matt and Sora to try and stop him. He couldn't say he was exceptionally close to either one of them, especially when compared to his friendship with Tai, but they were his friends nevertheless.

"Tai, may I make a inference?"

"Shoot."

"Sora comes from a family that arranges flowers for a living. Has it occurred to you that she may not be impressed with your amateur skills?"

Tai didn't look bothered. "Nah, she isn't like that."

"Think of it this way. If a girl came up to you to brag about her athletic skills in soccer when she has only just started to learn the rules, would that impress you? Wouldn't you be more unsettled than flattered, since you'd then have to go through the troublesome task of pretending to be impressed? Don't you think that may be how Sora will react?"

Tai looked up unsurely. "You think?" He looked at the flowers again and smiled nervously. "I guess I didn't think about it like that…"

He felt bad for manipulating Tai, especially since in actuality, Izzy highly doubted somebody like Sora would be as judgmental as that.

Regardless, he had to stop Tai somehow.

"You're right," Tai cried dejectedly. He groaned. "What do I do now?"

"Why are you suddenly showing interest in her anyway?"

He shrugged, still looking glum. "I don't know. I've just never realised how much I liked her before."

"May I make another inference then?"

"Fine."

Up until this point, Izzy had taken vigilant precautions not to offend Tai's feelings, but he knew there was no way to say what he wanted to say next without doing so.

"Have you considered it isn't about Sora at all, but it's Matt?"

To his surprise, Tai didn't look insulted. He didn't even look surprised. Rather, he rolled his eyes.

"You're right Izzy. I'm madly in love with Matt, and this is my attempt to come to terms with my deep, underlying feelings for him. Because, you know, he's such a swell guy."

"That's not what I meant," Izzy mumbled. "I meant that… maybe… you think you like her, but you don't."

"Why would I think I like her when I don't?"

He wandered his eyes above Tai's head so he couldn't see Tai's strikingly intimidating glare at him as he explained his theory.

"Let me see if I get this straight, Izzy," Tai said dangerously through clenched teeth. "You think that I like Sora not because I like her, but because I'm jealous that Matt has her?"

"Er, in simple words, yes."

"What the hell kind of a jackass do you take me for?"

He felt like a wounded gazelle trying to reason with a starving lion, one wrong word away from being mercilessly ripped apart.

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying—"

"Let's just get one thing straight here, Izzy. I'm not jealous of Matt, I've never been jealous of Matt and I never will be jealous of Matt. I'm not like him, so I don't see him as a threat the way he sees me."

"I'm not saying you're jealous of him, per se. I just think that even though you've never explicitly broken down from it the way he has, you should consider that subconsciously—"

"My subconscious is fine," Tai interrupted irritably. "Look, I don't have a reason to be jealous of him. He has the personality of a brick and the self confidence of a fly."

Izzy frowned slightly. "Tai, you're making it sound like you're better than him."

Tai gave Izzy a glare so menacing that Izzy actually took a step back as a precaution. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean, Izzy? Are you implying that he's better than me?"

"Er, no, of course not…" Izzy knew Tai had a tendency to solve arguments with violence, and he wasn't about to step down that painful path again. "I'm just saying you're making it sound like there's no reason anyone would choose Matt over you, and I think you're being a little unrealistic."

Tai groaned angrily. "Izzy, I _know_ that. I just don't see why _Sora_ would choose him over me." He frowned. "Don't you think we'd be a better match?"

"In any case," Izzy said, steering the topic so he wouldn't have to answer, "I think you should really consider putting your feelings aside for this one. Matt and Sora are dating, and it isn't your place to interfere."

"I'm not going to interfere. I'm going to—"

He felt a strange surge of annoyance overwhelm him, and he found himself interrupting his friend before his brain could register the consequences that would arise.

"No, Tai. It doesn't matter how much you try and convince yourself otherwise. At the end of the day, you're planning to come between them. If the situation were in reverse, do you think Matt would do something like this to you?"

Tai rolled his eyes, clearly not taking Izzy's words seriously. "Are you kidding me? He'd be all over that before I had a chance to blink."

Izzy shut his eyes, sighing in his mind. Tai was impossible, and his words were falling on deaf ears.

"Don't worry, Izzy," Tai assured confidently. "My chance isn't over. I refuse to lose to some Kurt Cobain wannabe loser."

Who?

"Who?"

Tai stared at him with his jaw ajar, as if he were an idiot.

Quite offensive coming from him.

"Are you serious? You don't know who Kurt Cobain is?"

He tried to think.

"No."

"Izzy, I'm serious. You need to get out more." Tai shook his head. "Anyway, I know Sora still likes me. I just know it."

"Tai, please. I'm literally begging you. Don't do anything stupid."

Izzy couldn't remember the last time he had been this concerned for somebody else's wellbeing. He was usually indifferent about this kind of thing, but any fool could see where this was going.

Well, any fool except for one, that is.

He wanted to tell Tai that he was setting himself up to be the villain, but he knew it would be in vain. Warning him would do nothing, because right now in Tai's mind, what he was about to do was something that was perfectly okay. By contradicting him, Izzy knew Tai would only get angry and walk away even more determined and persuaded in his behaviour.

"Everything will be fine," Tai assured. "I know what I'm doing."

* * *

Tai groaned, drawing his head as far back as it could go on the couch so that he was staring at the front portion of his flat upside down. Izzy had gone, and he was in the exact same situation he had been in that morning.

All he had managed to do so far was waste a perfectly good Saturday afternoon and ¥10,000.

Oh, and he had been able to see a side of Izzy he had never seen before. He had chosen to tell Izzy amongst his friends because he was usually the most unemotional, but he almost felt like he had invited Joe over the way he had been so apprehensive.

It wasn't that big of a deal, was it? She liked him; he liked her. They were allowed to like each other. Who was Izzy to state otherwise?

And the nerve he had to suggest that this was all some sort of competition to him, a game he was playing against Matt with Sora as the prize.

The sheer insult aside, Izzy couldn't be more wrong.

It was impossible to be intimidated by Matt when he had never seen him as a rival in the first place.

He knew Matt thought differently. He knew Matt had always seen him as a threat because he thought Tai had always been one step ahead of him. He thought Tai was the better leader, the better friend, the better brother.

Matt was an idiot.

If he had just taken one second to stop feeling sorry for himself, he would have been able to see his insecurities for the lies that they were.

Matt was Matt, and he was Tai. He had never reciprocated those feelings because, as far as he was concerned, there was no need for comparison in the first place.

Plus, if what Izzy had said were true, it would mean he was using Sora as some sort of trophy. He had known her longer than any of his other friends. He didn't think he could ever disrespect her in that way.

Ugh, it was too much. He was exhausted, if only mentally.

Upside-down, he saw the front door open and his mother walk in.

"Hi Mum," he greeted dully, getting up before she could scold him for sitting the way he had. He scooped up the bouquet of flowers off the kitchen counter on the way to greet her and held it out to her. "Here. I got these for you."

She reacted quite emotionally. After hugging him so hard his lungs almost gave out and theatrically declaring that he was the best son ever, she went to the kitchen straight away to cut them and put them in a vase.

She had gotten so excited that he almost got over how he had spent ¥10,000 for flowers that he ended up giving to his mum.

She came out of the kitchen, beaming as she placed the arranged vase on the table. "How was your day? Did you train for soccer, honey?"

"No, I will later."

He wasn't even sure if he was going to go today, but saying so would get her off his back for now. His mother nodded happily, still examining her flowers as he slipped into his room.

He shut the door and leaned against it, looking from his bed to his wardrobe. To take a nap or to go to the soccer pitch?

He knew which one he _should_ do, but he almost felt like there was no point because he hadn't been able to concentrate lately. In fact, he had spent most of the past week thinking about Sora instead of the game coming up the following Saturday. It was an away game against Ichioka High School, and there would probably be recruiters for Osaka-based universities there.

He had no intention of moving out of Tokyo for uni, but it'd still be nice to have offers from them. The more attention he gained now, the more likely it'd be that he could go pro. To gain attention, he'd have to get better. To get better, he'd have to go train.

Begrudgingly accepting soccer as the winner, he slumped to his wardrobe to change. He remembered the days when he'd count down the seconds until he could put on his uniform and go outside.

Now it almost felt like an obligation or a chore.

He grunted as he slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and headed out of his room. His mother was nowhere to be seen, which meant she had gone to her room.

He was working on getting his shoes on when the front door opened again, this time revealing his sister, whistling.

"Hi Tai!" she chirped cheerily.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so smiley?"

"Am I?" she asked, her lips practically extending from ear to ear. "I'm just happy."

"Why? Did you win the lottery?"

She giggled quietly, reaching down to take off her shoes. "No, nothing like that."

"What is it then?" He stood up and looked at her curiously.

"It's girl stuff. You're going to think it's stupid."

"Did that actor you like so much come into town?"

"No, silly." After placing her shoes neatly against the wall, she looked at him eagerly. "I'll tell you if you promise not to make fun of me."

"Fine, I promise," Tai lied.

"Okay. I just found out from Yolei that Matt is going to surprise Sora with a necklace for their one-month anniversary! Isn't that romantic?" She looked up dreamily. "I wish I could find true love like the two of them have, don't you?"

In a matter of nanoseconds, he felt his mood drop immensely. Of all people, he at least wanted his own flesh and blood to share the same feelings he had towards those two. As his sister gazed at him with the innocent aura of a fifteen-year-old, he looked back down at her dully.

"You're right. I do think that's a stupid reason to be so happy. It's not even your own necklace."

"You're mean." Kari stuck her tongue out at him but didn't appear to sense the authentic condemnation of his tone. "Are you going to go play soccer? You should invite Davis."

"No, I'm going to take a nap."

Kari looked confused as she watched him yank off his shoes once again. "But you're already in your uniform."

"Well, I've just changed my mind," he said matter-of-factly, kicking his shoes haphazardly to the side. "I'm too tired to go anywhere."

She knitted her thin brows worriedly, finally catching on to his darkened mood. "Are you all right?"

He didn't turn to look at her, already walking to his room. "I'm fine."

He shut the door behind him and threw himself on his bed.

Kari and her stupid gossip.

Stupid Matt and his stupid necklace.

Stupid Izzy and his stupid theories.

He didn't want to think about any of them, so he closed his eyes and tried to force himself to go off to the sleep that never came. Soon, he heard the muted voices of his mother and sister talking, smelled the offending scent of his mother's cooking, felt the annoying shin guards he had bothered to put on cling to his legs. A small ring indicated he had received a message, and he opened his eyes, giving in to the conclusion that he was no longer tired. Lazily, he reached an arm over to his duffel bag to blindly search for it and held the device up to his face.

It was an MMS, from Sora.

It was a picture of a young boy, probably no older than five or six. He was in a swimming costume, a swimming cap on his head and a pair of goggles around his eyes.

She had this thing where whenever she saw someone wearing goggles, she would sneak a picture and then send it to him. She thought it was cute; he thought it was creepy. In any case, he certainly didn't want photo evidence of random people wearing goggles, mostly little children, in his phone if he were ever to lose it.

As he was about to delete the picture, however, he took notice of the background behind the boy. She had taken the picture at a pool.

She must have been at the gym—which he knew Matt avoided—which meant she was by herself—which meant he could drop by!

"Are you at the gym?" he wrote back, sitting up as he anxiously waited for her answer.

This was perfect! If he went to the gym, he'd be able to spend time with Sora _and_ train for soccer.

A few seconds later, his mobile rang again.

"Just left. Matt and I are going to the cinema in an hour. Want to come? Invite Kari."

Yeah, like that's what he wanted. To go watch some bloody movie with Sora, Matt and his sister.

He declined and set his mobile aside, burying his face into his pillow once more.

He knew couples spent most of their time together, but he was growing annoyed of the two becoming a package deal. He had especially become aware of that in the past week.

There had to be a way he could spend time with her by himself without being confided in the restrictive atmosphere of their classroom, but how?

* * *

I always get nervous right before uploading a new chapter, but this time my anxiety is worse than usual. I know this was a rather uneventful chapter, but please anticipate the next one. It will provide more insight on Tai, Matt and Sora, and I'll try to put it up faster to make up for this lacklustre one.

Random information about Chapter 12: As I mentioned in the beginning, this was actually one of the first chapters I wrote for _A Losing Game_. The idea for this story came to me right after I watched Chelsea FC lose to FC Barcelona in that appalling semi-final of the 2009 UEFA Champions League. In the original draft, Tai and Izzy bake while they watch that particular game, and unluckily for Izzy, his refusal to take the biscuits out of the oven causes Tai to miss Iniesta's goal. Obviously, this part has been omitted due to the reference being lost over time (and because it's June… and because I could no longer believe Tai and Izzy would bake), but, to this day, I absolutely _despise_ Barcelona with a fiery passion. My hatred for that club rivals my hatred for Sorato, and it doesn't get any deeper than that.

Amazing information regarding Digimon: Well, I think it's amazing anyway. My little cousin (who loves Digimon too!) called me from Japan just to tell me that Tai is returning to the anime on January 8 for the newest season of Digimon.

Wait, what? I didn't even know the show was still on air. I thought it had ended with Frontier, which I never watched.

So, of course, I took her words with a grain of salt. Well, after looking online myself, I have confirmed it to be true. It has been over a decade since we last saw Yagami Taichi grace the screen, so I will definitely be watching this episode when it comes out! Now, I know not a lot of the people here can understand Japanese, so if anybody is interested, I'd be willing to provide anybody who wants one a translation/summary of that episode.

And, finally, sorry for my inappropriately long endnote, made longer with this apology.


	13. Chapter 13

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for your feedback, and I apologise for the long wait. My real-life ambitions got in the way of my leisure time.

This is another long one. The longest one ever, in fact.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 13**

He leaned against the stairwell, his eyes hazily fixed on the lower level for any sign of her. From where he stood, he could see large sections of either side of the main hallway, as well as the front door to the school. He dully watched the mass of students walk on by, but he had yet to see the one person he was looking for. Patience had never been one of his strong traits, and his impatience was growing with every passing second.

An underclassman girl shyly waved to him as she walked up the stairs, and he politely waved back with a slight smile. In recent months, students he had never spoken to before had been coming up to him to introduce themselves and chat, but today he wasn't interested in partaking empty conversations with any of them. To avoid such an impasse, he had placed a set of headphones over his ears. No music came out, as the other end was unattached to any sort of music player, the plug simply tucked into his bare pocket. It proved successful, as nobody really tried to talk to him, but he almost wished he had some music to pass the dull time.

He sighed, rested his elbow against the railing, then placed his head on his hand. He could have sworn Sora liked to come to school early, so what was taking her so long? If he had known, he really wouldn't have minded the extra few minutes of sleep.

Behind him, he heard someone whisper that Tai Kamiya looked pensive, not knowing he could hear them through his silent headphones.

He smirked a little. All he had to do to look deep in thought was to look bored to death? Good to know, in case he ever felt like changing his personality for bonus points.

He turned around and smiled at the two female students, who looked flustered at being caught and quickly scurried away.

Okay, so he had to admit that he liked the attention, but really, what kind of a guy didn't? He was a high school student. He was allowed to like girls paying attention to him, just as they were allowed to like him paying attention back.

He smiled at another pretty passing girl before he turned back to look at the bottom level of the school, realising he had gotten distracted again. At this rate, he'd miss out on Sora walking in.

It took a few minutes, but he finally saw her walking into the school building, carrying a small load of books.

Perfect.

He yanked the headphones off his head and quickly made his way down the stairs, skipping every other one. Before she could notice his presence, he went up behind her and quickly swooped her belongings into his own hands. She turned in surprise, though her widened eyes returned to normal upon seeing who it was.

"What are you up to now, Tai?"

"So I've been thinking," he said nonchalantly, ignoring her suspicions as he moved her books under his right arm. "You owe me a date, Sora Takenouchi."

She blinked, looking confused. "What?"

"You said you'd take me out to the finest restaurant in Tokyo if I got a uni offer," he reminded her, grinning. "Offer received. I'm here to redeem my prize." He held out his free hand as if asking for a gift, but she lightly swatted it away with a frown.

"You refused me when I reminded you of that a while ago, remember?"

"I know, but I changed my mind."

"You aren't allowed to change your mind."

"I just did. Sue me." He stepped in front of her to prevent her from walking any further and held out three fingers. "Plus, I have _three_ offers. So, technically, you owe me three dates, but I'll spare you the expense and only make you take me out to one. If you think about it, I'm actually doing you a favour, so you're welcome."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you trying to get a free dinner from me?"

"Of course." He winked. "A free, _expensive_ dinner."

She playfully pushed him aside. "You're impossible. Why don't you ask one of your new fans? I'm sure any one of them would be happy to take you out."

"I'm sure they would, but I thought I'd give you the exclusive opportunity. Consider yourself privileged to have been chosen to pay for Tai Kamiya's Friday night dinner."

"Ugh. Really. I'm surprised your body can support that gigantic head of yours." She rolled her eyes, looking at him with slight disgust.

"Come on, you have to," he whinged. "My mum's making meatloaf that night, and you know I can't stand that stuff."

"You're funny, Tai."

"Thank you," he said, pretending not to have noticed her sarcasm. "You look nice today, by the way."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "…Thank you."

"You're welcome." He shifted her books from under his arm to hold them more comfortably. He smiled at her and saw that she was still looking at him questionably. "What?"

"Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?"

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

"You told me I look nice, and since when did you start carrying my books?"

He dramatically put a hand to his heart. "Sora, I'm hurt. I've always been a gentleman."

She rolled her eyes. "Cut the act, Tai. What do you want this time? You know, if you need something, I'd prefer you just go out and say it instead of buttering me up like this."

He knew she wasn't trying to be mean, but he was offended anyway. "I don't need anything. I told you that you look nice because you look nice, and I thought I'd be a good friend and help you out because I thought your things looked heavy. I didn't realise I'd be interrogated."

She stared at him, as if waiting for him to reveal that he had some ulterior motive.

"Fine," she heaved finally. "I'm sorry for doubting you. It's just that every time you do something like this, it's because you need me to do something for you."

"Oh yeah? Name one time."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Let's see, in the past few months alone, you've brought me breakfast because you needed to copy my homework. You've invited me to 'hang out' at your house because you needed someone to teach you how to do laundry. You've talked to me at a party to ask me for some girl's number. Is that enough, or would you like me to keep going?"

Well, he supposed he had nothing to say to that.

"Right. So. Anyway. Dinner."

She sighed at his deflection. "I'll ask Matt and get back to you."

He unintentionally rolled his eyes.

"He's my boyfriend," she said knowingly.

"More like your dad if you need to ask him permission to eat with me," he retorted sourly. "Weren't you the one who was telling me how you couldn't be with him if he tried to get in the way of our friendship?"

She frowned. "How rude you are, Tai Kamiya! I'm asking him to be respectful, not because I think he'll mind. In fact, I'm sure he won't care at all. Honestly, you can be so dramatic."

"All right, all right. I was only kidding. You don't need to nag my ear off," he grunted.

But, really, it was a stupid thing to ask. If any of _his_ ex-girlfriends had asked him for permission each time they wanted to go eat with one of their friends, or had asked him to do the same, he would have jumped ship immediately.

Still, it wasn't like he could do anything about it.

"When can you get back to me?" Then, without really thinking about it, he lied, "If you can't go, maybe I'll ask Kaori."

She looked annoyed and started to walk off, though she spoke to indicate that he was to follow her. "I'm surprised you asked me before her in the first place."

"Well, if I go with you, as per our deal, you'll have to pay. With her, I'll have to pay. It was a no-brainer."

She stopped walking to glare at him. A glare that might have annoyed him in the past which now made him feel a little good. Was it jealousy?

"You're disgusting," she said flatly before walking again.

Amused by her antics but knowing she wasn't, he quickly walked up to her to apologise. "You know I'm kidding, Sor. I don't like Kaori."

"You're allowed to like whoever you want, Tai," she said, eyes pointed straight ahead as she was now refusing to look at him.

He simply walked in front of her and turned, walking backwards with his neck bent down so she was forced to look at him.

"Yeah, but I don't like her," he assured, grinning playfully. "I like you better."

She rolled her eyes.

"I do. You're way cooler and hotter and—oomph!" He grunted as his back hit the door to their classroom, which made her smirk just a little. They didn't walk inside, instead standing out in the hallway as he continued talking as if nothing happened. "And I checked her stats. You're way better than her at tennis."

"Cut the flattery, Tai. I still think you're disgusting. And a liar too now."

"See, you don't know me at all. I happen to be very un-disgusting, and I never lie."

"Well, there are three lies right there." She reached for her books, but he lifted his arms over his head, above her reach. "Tai, give me my things."

"Are we going to dinner on Friday?"

"Tai, give them to me _now_."

"Are we going to dinner on Friday?"

"I'm serious."

"Are we going to dinner on Friday?"

"_Tai Kamiya_."

"Are we going to dinner on Fri—ack!" She jabbed him in the rib, and he instantly took a step back, running into the classroom door again. She took this chance to snatch her belongings from him.

"You deserved it," she said firmly, though she did look concerned as he rubbed the back of his head. "Are you all right? Are you exaggerating to make me feel sorry for you? I'm going to be mad if you are."

He looked at her solemnly. "Are we going to dinner on Friday?"

She sighed, giving in to his immaturity. "We'll see, Tai. I'll ask Matt during lunch and get back to you, but I won't do it if you ask me again."

He frowned as another thought hit him. "Okay, here's a different question then. Do you not want to go?"

"I _want_ to go, but I just want to make sure Matt's okay with it. Why are you so set on making a date anyway? Aren't you the one who calls me five minutes before something starts to ask to go somewhere?

"Ah, I've just really been busy, so I like to plan my week in advance," he lied on the spot.

She shrugged, seemingly accepting that as a valid answer. "Fine, well, let's go in. I don't want to be late because of you."

He pretended to hold the open door for her, and she once again rolled her eyes at his antic before following her inside.

T-minus 5 days. That wasn't too bad.

* * *

Matt drew a breath and slowly repeated what his girlfriend had just said to him. "You want to take Tai… out to dinner… on a Friday night… just the two of you…"

Sora laughed, her face not showing any indication that she had heard the discomfort in his voice. "It's only Tai, and it was something I promised him a long time ago. He's dead set on getting a free meal out of me. Can you believe him?"

"I just think it's weird," Matt said tartly, turning his attention back to his lunch, "but do what you want."

She tried to hide her smile. "Come on. Don't tell me you're jealous."

"Of Tai? Never."

"So you don't care."

"Do what you want," he repeated.

He didn't even bother to look up from his food, so he couldn't see her expression, but what she said next was enough to make an educated guess.

"You know I don't have to go if you don't want me to."

She put her hand on top of his, and she sounded almost worried that it made him feel guilty.

He was acting crazy. The three of them had been friends for a long time. If he wouldn't let her go, he would be made out to be the bad guy, the jealous boyfriend who wanted to keep her from seeing one of her closest friends.

"No, I want you to go," he assured, trying his hardest to sound genuine.

It didn't seem good enough for her.

"I'm just in a bad mood from my exam this morning," he lied. "I'm letting it get to me. Sorry."

"Aw, poor thing." She patted his hand twice. "You'll do better on the next one."

He forced himself to smile.

"Anyway, thanks for being so understanding. I should head back before the bell rings." She stood up, placed her chair back to where she had found it, waved and was gone.

He immediately stopped straining himself and let his cold expression fall back in place.

It wasn't that he was jealous of Tai.

Because he wasn't.

Nor did he think Tai was any sort of competition.

No, definitely not.

It was just that, all things being considered, Matt would rather Sora not be such good friends with him. It was a perfectly normal feeling, not wanting your girlfriend's best friend to be a guy—especially a guy he suspected she once had feelings for. Plenty of other boyfriends would feel this way. He wasn't overreacting, and he certainly wasn't jealous. There was no reason to be. He refused to become the jealous boyfriend type. It wasn't his image. He was cool, he was collected, he was calm, he was—

But, seriously, who the hell took another guy's girlfriend out to dinner on a Friday night at the city's most luxurious restaurant? Childhood friendships, prior-made promises and whatever other crap excuse he had aside, who the _hell_ did that? _That Tai Kamiya_—

No, stop. He wasn't jealous. He wouldn't let this get to him because he wasn't jealous. Tai was only doing this to get a free dinner, so he wasn't jealous. Sora was already his girlfriend, so he wasn't jealous.

…

…

…

…It just wasn't bloody fair.

The rat bastard got everything. He always did. Tai was forever going to be the hero, the one everyone liked and admired. And he, Matt, was the second-in-command nobody that stood alongside him and joined in whenever Tai saw fit. It had been that way since they were children, and no matter what he did, it seemed it would stay that way.

The Digital World.

He knew he had been just as qualified to lead. He was just as adept, just as authoritative, just as strong.

So why had it worked out the way it had?

He had always considered himself an independent, but somehow he had found himself as Tai's… _subordinate_. Just as capable but still below him. Even his own brother had looked up to him as if he were some sort of invincible superhero brother, the one that Matt could never be.

It happened seven years ago, but it still bothered him. He had only been eleven then, but the roller coaster of emotions he had felt in such a short amount of time had impacted him hard. Tai was his friend, and he felt guilty for thinking such things, but it wasn't like he could help it.

Tai Kamiya, golden boy of the school. He was good at everything. He got everything. Everybody liked him. _Sora_ had liked him. She had recycled her love for him when Tai wouldn't take it.

He wanted to believe that last one wasn't true, but inside he knew it was.

She probably hadn't meant for it to work out that way, and he truly believed she now cared for him, but it didn't mean that little detail hadn't bruised his pride.

It was like the universe was out to make Tai the star in the spotlight, while he was forever destined to be second to him even though he wasn't. He was just as good as Tai. No. He was _better_ than Tai.

So why?

Was it because he was more mature? Because he took things seriously? Because he thought things through? Because he was more levelheaded? Because he was taller?

He couldn't see it. He didn't think he ever would.

"Hey, look, it's Tai Kamiya."

The whisper of the student who sat in front of him made him roll his eyes.

Another mindless drone falling to her knees just because Tai had recently made a name for himself. He was getting sick of them. If only they knew the kind of person Tai really was, or how Tai talked about them as if they were disposable pieces of meat, they probably wouldn't like him so much. They liked his achievements and what he was doing for the school, but they didn't like him.

It was the same for girls who thought they liked Matt. They liked his face and maybe his music, but they didn't like him. They didn't even know him.

Not that Tai was smart enough to figure that much out.

He found himself glaring unintentionally at his friend standing at the door of his classroom, probably coming back from that inane soccer training of his that Sora felt the need to bring up what seemed like every five minutes. He was working too hard, she said. He was going to hurt himself, she claimed. I feel so bad for him, she worried.

Yeah, right. Tai looked just fine if you asked him. There he was, grinning like the arrogant idiot he was with his uniform wrinkled, his hair a mess, that disgusting duffel bag of his slung over his shoulder.

For a split second, Matt could have sworn that he was looking into the face of an enemy he despised, not a friend.

"Delivery for Yamato Ishida."

Tai spoke as if the whole class was paying attention, which they now probably were since his voice was so damn loud.

His expression didn't change as Tai walked inside, heading towards his desk.

"What?" he asked shortly.

Tai seemed unfazed by his unfriendly greeting and placed a rag on his desk.

"I found your washcloth."

He looked at the grey thing. It was wet, dirty and stained, and he had never seen it in his life. He couldn't imagine how Tai could have thought this thing belonged to him, much less why he would have bothered to return it to him. No matter how he looked at it, it looked like it belonged in the rubbish bin.

"That isn't mine."

"Oh, really? I thought it was," Tai said airily, looking around the classroom. "Did Sora already leave?"

"She did." Matt frowned disapprovingly at the object on his desk before looking back up at Tai. "You came all the way here to give me back a filthy piece of cloth?"

Tai finally lowered his gaze from the classroom to Matt, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'all the way here'? Our classrooms are on the same hallway."

"It's still not on the way."

"Believe it or not, Matt, some of us don't find walking thirty seconds out of the way that troublesome or physically straining. Excuse me for trying to be a good friend. I'll leave then."

"Take this with you," Matt snapped as Tai began to walk off without it.

Tai rolled his eyes and picked it up. "Jesus, you're in a good mood today."

Matt didn't say anything in response, so Tai turned to leave again—but stopped to talk to some of his classmates who said hello. He knew Tai didn't know them, but the way they interacted with each other made it look like they were friends.

Very much unlike himself, Tai didn't mind talking to people he didn't know. Rather, he enjoyed it. As Matt watched the other students throw their heads back in laughter at something Tai said, something dawned on him.

Perhaps this was why. Tai was likeable, whereas he was a miserable git.

He lacked Tai's charming personality, his air of charisma, his approachable demeanour.

And for as much of a pedestal he had just put himself on for the past few minutes, he knew he lacked one more of Tai's traits. Or rather, Tai lacked one of his.

Despite their differences, despite their shortcomings, despite their disagreements and bantering, in the seven years they had known each other, Tai had never once turned his back on Matt the way he once had to him. Hell, Tai had been a better friend to him than he had ever been, and it was times like this that he wondered why Tai even bothered. If the situation were in reverse, he would have closed the door on their friendship long ago.

Suddenly, he felt very inferior, and it took him a second to realise he had let the stupid insecurities come back out again. Nobody could bring them out but Tai, but it was unfair to hate him for it. It wasn't like Tai had ever deliberately tried to show him up. It wasn't Tai's fault that he made the better leader or that he was naturally a more understanding brother or that he possessed the qualities Sora had first found attractive. He could hate that life worked that way, but he couldn't hate Tai for it. Tai had never forced his leadership on him, had never tried to steal TK, had never showed interest in Sora.

And here he was, getting pointlessly jealous over some dinner that meant nothing more to Tai than a free meal. Even worse, he was doubting Sora. At the very least, he was supposed to trust her.

He felt the need to apologise but couldn't bring himself to do it, so he merely stared as Tai got up to leave his classroom, not even bothering to turn around to say goodbye.

* * *

_Matt's such a little bitch_, Tai thought to himself as he left Matt's classroom.

He had gotten annoyed by Matt's attitude towards him, though it had been entertaining to see Matt's reaction to the bogus rag he had brought him. He tossed it away in the nearest rubbish bin, chuckling a little. He had needed an excuse to visit, so he had picked up the discarded thing from the soccer pitch to give to him. The visit had been a failure though, as Sora had already gone and he was left to deal with that delightful attitude of Matt's that she had somehow fallen for.

No, that was wrong. She couldn't have fallen for Matt because he knew that she still liked him. Friday night would prove that.

He peeked inside his classroom before walking in, confirming that Sora was back in her seat. If only he had checked before, he wouldn't have had to waste time going to Matt's.

"I'm back," he announced as he set his things down beside him. "Miss me?"

"Yes, very much," she said with faux seriousness, pursing her lips as she gave a slight nod. He found himself smiling, suddenly finding her little mannerisms very cute. "Oh, and I talked it over with Matt. As long as you don't cancel on me like you always do, we should be good for Friday night."

His grin widened without he really thinking about it at the confirmation. Even though it wasn't _technically_ a date, it was still a one-on-one dinner with Sora. Why had he always taken them for granted?

"Great! And don't worry. I won't."

He could have done without her snappy remark at the end, but he knew he probably deserved it. He had had a tendency to back out on their plans in the past few months, but there was no way he'd back out on this one.

"You better bring your A game, Tai. Moriali's is supposed to be super fancy, and I don't want to be embarrassed with you showing up like you just came from a soccer match."

"Oh, I'll bring it, Sora. I'll bring it so hard you'll forget you even have a boyfriend."

She frowned and lightly pushed on his cheek, as if slapping him. "I doubt it."

Her quip did little to dampen his mood, and he light-heartedly pretended to gag himself before Mr Mizumi told him to stop. As the students began to settle for class to start again, he took Sora's chair and pulled it closer to his.

"What're you doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You were too far away."

She turned red for a second before she placed her chair back in its original position and hissed, "Stop saying stupid things, Tai. I mean it."

He chuckled lightly and looked ahead. Friday couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

It had been well worth the wait. She had rejected his offer to pick her up, so he met up with her at the restaurant. She had predictably gotten there first, and he couldn't help but be blown away.

He used to think Sora wearing a dress was hilariously entertaining and even a little weird, but he decided tonight that he could get used to her like this. Easily. He didn't know much about girl clothing, but he did know the dress Sora was wearing hugged her in all the right places.

How he had never noticed how beautiful Sora was before, he did not know.

"Nice dress," he said, a little numbly.

She took a step back and scrunched her nose at him. "Are you being sarcastic? This is a fancy restaurant, Tai. I couldn't just come in regular clothes, so don't make fun of me—"

"I wasn't being sarcastic," he interrupted, turning annoyed himself. Sora evidently thought he was incapable of giving compliments.

She must have caught onto his change in attitude, as she said, "Ooh! Look at you, Tai! No wonder so many girls at our school swoon over you. You look so handsome!"

His annoyance dissolved, and even though he knew that she probably only said it to uplift his mood, it worked anyway. He didn't even try to hide his grin creeping back up. Wearing smart suits wasn't really his thing, but Sora thought it made him look handsome.

She mirrored his smile satisfyingly and lightly pinched his cheek. "Aw, you're so easy to please, my little baby."

He took her by the wrist and moved it away from his face. He looked sternly at her. "Don't act like my mother, Sor."

She smirked and pulled her arm away. "That's right. Because I'm more like a sister to you, right?"

Her statement caught him off guard, and he couldn't read her expression.

"Anyway, let's go inside. Our reservation is at eight." She took him by his tie and pulled it slightly before letting go to indicate to him to follow her as she walked ahead.

Her silhouette made him forget what he had been thinking about, and he stood there dumbly, simply staring at her backside as she walked farther and farther away.

She turned around and looked at him confusedly. "Aren't you coming, Tai?"

It took him a second to regain control of his mind, but when he did, he quickly jogged up beside her. He tried to order his eyes to not stare at her, but they'd sneak a peek every once in a while anyway.

Half an hour later, he was beginning to think nothing would stop them, but his saving grace came in the form of the most delectable slab of steak he had ever had the privilege to eat. One bite, and for the moment he forgot about the girl sitting across from him.

"Tai, slow down. Your food isn't going anywhere."

He swallowed his half-chewed meat and animatedly announced, "This is the best steak I've ever had in my life. Sora, I'm not even exaggerating when I say this. I—" He stopped midsentence, popping another piece into his mouth. Eating was more important that finishing his sentence.

She laughed amusedly. "Well, I'm glad you like it. You better eat all of it too. It's expensive!"

He nodded, mouth too full of food to respond verbally.

"I feel sorry for your poor mother, having to feed such a ravenous son with an insatiable appetite."

"Are you kidding me? My mum knows I hate her cooking, so she loves when I eat her food! She lives for it. I swear, Sor, the first thing I'm going to look for in my future wife is whether she's a decent cook."

She frowned. "Or, you know, you can learn yourself instead of relying on your wife to do it."

"But that's the woman's job," he teased, knowing it would annoy her.

And, predictably so, she huffed, "You're so sexist, Tai! I can't believe I'm friends with you!"

"It was a joke," he said to calm her down. "I happen to be an excellent cook."

"Why are you trying to lie to me? I already know you're rubbish."

"I swear. As long as it's eggs or instant ramen, I'm practically a professional. Don't even get me started on instant ramen with an egg in it. I'll make it for you sometime."

She didn't look impressed. "You're going to be one of those guys who blow up in uni. I just know it."

He grinned. "Yeah right, Sor. My body fat percentage is 8%. Got it checked the other day. I'll show you that sometime too." He wiggled his brows and pretended to flex his right arm before using it to cut another piece of meat off his plate.

She finally looked flustered and took a swig of her wine. "Stop flattering yourself and eat your food."

"Aw, are you embarrassed because you think I have a nice body?" he teased, setting his fork down and moving his head lower to try and get a good look at her face.

She cleared her throat and almost glared at him. "_No_."

His massive grin widened even more. "Come off it. You're totally thinking about it right now! You're blushing, Sora Takenouchi."

"I am _not_," she hissed, lightly pushing his face away from her side of the table. "You know who's a really good cook? Matt. You should ask him for some pointers so you don't die in uni."

His smile disappeared, and he tried not to scowl at the mention of his name. Since coming here, she had managed to divert every conversation topic to two categories: soccer and Matt.

"Yeah, yeah, your little boyfriend likes to cook like a woman. I know. Good for him."

"Tai!"

He ignored her reprimanding voice and took another bite of his steak, but he realised after a few minutes of silence that she was deliberately not talking to him.

"Sora?"

"What."

"You angry?"

"Why would I be angry, Tai? I'm out having a wonderful dinner with my friend."

He sighed with relief. "That's good to know. I thought you were—"

"—who's the single worst human being alive on this planet," she finished crossly, setting her fork down. "Why are you so mean, Tai? How come every time I mention Matt, you have to bring him down?"

"I don't know. How come every time I mention anything other than Matt, you have to bring the conversation back to him?" he retorted just as grumpily.

She looked even angrier. "I don't do that. And even if I did, he's my boyfriend. I'm allowed to talk about him, and obviously I'm going to get offended when you say things about him to my face."

He rolled his eyes, knowing it would aggravate her further. He didn't want to argue with her, but he didn't want to give in either. "Fine. Whatever. I'm wrong and you're right, like always."

"Stop making fun of him. I mean it."

"Fine."

"It's really rude."

"Fine."

"He doesn't talk about you."

"_Fine_."

They ate in silence again, Tai angrily ripping apart his steak with his knife. The fact that she constantly stood up for him annoyed him. Matt wasn't so perfect.

An idea came to his head.

"So what do you think of the restaurant?" he asked, acting like nothing had happened.

She didn't talk for a few seconds but finally gave in when he continued to stare at her. "The food's really good, but it's too fancy for a couple of high school students, don't you think? I feel so out of place."

"I wouldn't say that," he continued nonchalantly. "Actually, I heard about this restaurant from Matt. He said he once took Davis' sister here out on a date—oops." He put a hand to his mouth, pretending to catch himself on accident. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Her anger seemed to have fizzled out, as she was now smirking. "Believe me Tai. I'm not threatened by a date Matt went on years ago."

Her lack of reaction disappointed him. "That's good to hear, but doesn't it bother you that you aren't his first girlfriend when he's your first?"

She looked confused. "Matt's never really had a girlfriend either."

"That's not true," he countered excitedly. "Last year, he went out with that girl from his French class."

She laughed. "It was only a date, Tai. Taking a girl out on one date doesn't automatically mean she's his girlfriend."

"_Three_ dates," Tai corrected, trying to conceal his smirk. "And we both know what that means."

She gave him a judging look. "Matt isn't like you, Tai."

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently, smiling to hide his disappointment once again. He wanted her to see Matt for the imperfect, flawed person that he was.

"Well, for one thing, Matt is selective and doesn't go out with any pretty girl who shows interest in him."

He frowned. "I don't either."

"Oh really. So if a beautiful girl were to walk in here and ask you to go out with her right now, you would turn her down?"

"Of course I would. She'd have to be hotter than you, and we both know that isn't possible."

He saw her face darken, and instantly she looked angry again. "You're such a freaking jerk, Tai. I hate you."

He strained to keep his composure as Sora kicked him hard from underneath the table.

"I _use_ that leg for soccer, Sor."

"That's what you get for being so rude!" She looked offended, even turning a little red.

"What?" he cried out incredulously, realising she had taken his compliment as sarcasm once again. "I do think you're pretty."

"No, you don't. You're just trying to be funny, but you aren't funny at all! You're just a jerk."

"I—"

"Drop it," she ordered sternly, glaring at him.

He did as he was told.

This wasn't going the way he wanted things to go. He had managed to get her angry twice already in one dinner. That had to be some sort of record.

This time, she was the one who broke the silence.

"So how's your training going?" she asked after a minute, her tone free of any remorse from their previous topic of conversation. That was strange. He was the one who got over things easily and could move on as if nothing had happened. Sora, on the other hand, believed in constructed apologies.

He shrugged. "I haven't been doing much."

She gave him a distrusting look.

"I haven't."

It was true. Lately, he had been doing the bare minimum of his training, but it was fine because he already had three offers, which was two more than his goal of one. He was allowed rest too, wasn't he?

He told himself he was conserving his energy for his game on Saturday, but in reality he wasn't too worried. Right now, Odaiba was unstoppable, and the team they were going against was mediocre.

It took him a second to realise that Sora was talking, but when he started to pay attention, he heard she was only nagging at him about his training.

"I don't need to practise that much. I'm already better than everybody else on the team."

His cocky statement, which he said half-jokingly, predictably caused Sora to shift her nagging from worrying about him to reprimanding him. "I don't see what all these girls see in you."

"That isn't what you said outside."

"I was just trying to get you to stop being mad at me outside."

The timing was perfect. This was his chance to find out for sure.

"So let's say you and Matt weren't dating, and I asked you out. What'd you say?"

He stared at her face for her reaction, which was what he had hoped it'd be.

She blushed.

"I'd say no, obviously."

"Why? I'm a catch."

"Because I've known you since you were seven."

"So? Davis has known Kari since grade four, and he's still in love with her."

"Well, I'm not Davis."

He smirked, leaning back in his seat. "Whatever, Sor. Just admit it. You would've said yes if I had asked you out a month ago, and you would've been excited."

Her light pink blush transformed to dark crimson colour, but she still tried to play it off. "Tai, I would have never said yes to you. You're like a brother to me."

Her refutes were unconvincing and awkward, and she looked uncomfortable as her face turned redder and redder. Her flustered disposition was confirmation enough for him. Even though Mimi had essentially told him that Sora liked him, he wanted to see it for himself. He needed to see it with his two eyes that she liked him too.

Was it now? He knew he liked her, and now he knew that she liked him too. It was the moment he had been waiting for, but was the timing right? Should he tell her now? It'd alleviate her anxiety but at the cost of his own. What'd he follow up with? Ask her to break up with Matt? Ask her to be with him instead? He realised for the first time that he had never taken the time to think that part through. He had been so focused on getting past that first step that it never occurred to him how they'd reach the next.

"Oops, excuse me," Sora said suddenly. She slumped a little in her chair, reaching for her handbag, pulling out her buzzing mobile phone.

"Such bad table manners," he joked.

She smiled apologetically at him for a fraction of a second before she turned her attention to her mobile. It was probably an SMS. He looked on with little curiosity. Her red face turned back to its natural tanned complexion, but there was something else. It looked brightened, but perhaps that was due to the massive smile that had popped up. She looked at it wistfully for another moment before she put the mobile back in her bag.

When she turned back to him, the radiance he saw on her face was now gone. "Sorry, it was from Matt." She smiled again, though it appeared it was more to herself, and she was trying to stop him from seeing.

"What did he want?" he asked, accidentally speaking sharply though Sora didn't seem to notice.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

He grew annoyed. Obviously, it wasn't "nothing" because she was still smiling like an idiot.

"Just tell me."

"Nothing." She turned pink again, though her expression wasn't the same as earlier. It looked more shy than awkward. "You'll think it's gross."

"Ew," he agreed immediately. "You're right. I don't want to know."

His snarky comment didn't make her angry this time. She picked up her utensils and started to eat again, though that stupid smile was still stuck in place.

It bothered him that she looked so happy. Not even half a minute ago, he had been so certain she liked him, but now he wasn't so sure. When he flirted with her, she hadn't smiled. She had gotten flustered, yes, but perhaps it hadn't meant anything meaningful. Now that he thought about it, she had looked more uncomfortable than anything else…

Either way, Matt had with a single SMS uplifted her mood substantially, and that bothered him.

"Do you really like him?" Tai asked quietly.

She nodded shyly, her pink flush still in place. "He's really great. I'm really lucky."

He felt irrational—or was it rational?—anger brewing, even though he had been the one to bring up the subject.

"Wow, Sor. I never thought I'd see the day you'd become one of his fangirls too." He had sneered it, rolled his eyes, even gave a patronising chortle.

Her shyness dissipated, replaced with fury once again. "Excuse me? I am _not_ one of those girls, Tai! Yes, Matt is easy on the eye, but that isn't why I like him!"

"Then why? Because he has a great personality?" he shot back sarcastically. Really, who was she kidding?

"In fact, he has a wonderful personality," Sora countered.

"Oh, come off it, Sora. He has the shittiest personality I've ever seen in a person. You like him because you think he's good-looking."

"I do not! I can't even believe you're telling me that I'm shallow, when you're the most shallow person I know—"

"I am _not_ shallow."

"—and anyway, his personality is a whole lot better than yours," she continued as if she hadn't heard him.

He grew offended at the last statement. "Well then, it's a good thing you're dating him. It must be so nice to have such a perfect bastard as your boyfriend."

"I couldn't agree more." She was glaring, though trying to remain discreet so other tables wouldn't be able to tell they were fighting.

He took the napkin from his lap and threw it on the table. "Yeah, whatever. Where's our waiter? I want the bill."

"Ugh, are you in a bad mood because I said Matt's personality is better than yours? You can be so childish, Tai! He's my boyfriend. Obviously, I'm going to side with him." She picked up his napkin and held it out to him. "Now finish your dinner."

He refused to take it. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Tai, you're acting like you're five years old."

"And you're acting like you're forty-five years old."

"Are you even being serious right now? You're really going to pull this immature attitude in public right now?"

"Yeah, I am. What're you going to do about it?"

"Fine, do what you want," she hissed, also setting her napkin on the table beside her half-eaten plate. "All I wanted was a nice dinner with my friend, and what do you do? You pick a fight three times. You're really cool, Tai. I'm so glad I _wasted_ my Friday night with you when I'd much rather be with—"

"Fine, I'm sorry," he interrupted quickly before she could finish her sentence. He knew who she was going to say, but it made it less damaging if she didn't.

"Yeah, you always are. You say what you have to say, then you apologise like that's enough. I told you that I don't like when you make fun of Matt, and what do you do? You do it again not even ten minutes later. Do you not listen, Tai?"

He looked angrily at his plate, unable to look at her as the harsh truth finally settled in.

She liked him. She actually liked him.

How could she like him? It was one thing to date him, but to _actually_ like him?

How could she?

What about him? Didn't she like him just a month ago? Mimi had made it sound like Sora was in love with him, but surely people didn't get over people they loved in a little over a month.

And for bloody _Matt Ishida_? He almost wanted to laugh.

She was still scolding him, and suddenly he felt very much like her son, getting disciplined for being naughty.

"—And might I remind you that _you_ were the one who told me to go for him?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated again, knowing she was too caught in her rant to see how empty his apology was.

"I'll forgive you this time, but if you do it again, I'm not letting you off. I'm so serious, Tai. You're being really rude!"

He didn't say anything, and she huffed as she placed her napkin back on her lap, proceeding to eat her meal.

He looked at his steak, the perfectly cooked meat now nauseating him.

For two weeks, he had convinced himself that Sora still had feelings for him, only to find out today from her own mouth that she didn't.

Izzy had been right, as always. He supposed he was the stupid one for doubting him.

How could she? He felt like he was going crazy, or maybe she was the crazy one, and he needed to shake the crazy out of her. He wanted to tell her to stop liking Matt and to like him instead. He wanted to remind her that it wasn't too long ago that she had liked him.

His stomach was churning, his heart was racing, and his eyes were seeing red. He couldn't focus, consumed suddenly by the hard truth he didn't want to believe.

He had to do something. Anything. Say something.

"I said those things because I think you're too good for him. He doesn't deserve you."

She looked annoyed again, but then she sighed, looking almost tired. "You're wrong, Tai. And even if your intentions are good, I don't like it when you say things like that. I like him a lot. You wouldn't like it if I said things like this about your girlfriend, would you? You've dated girls I haven't liked, but I supported you anyway, didn't I?"

"Like who?"

It was Nanami. He knew was her, and he suddenly wanted her to say it. He wanted her to tell him that she didn't like Nanami because she had liked him at the time.

"It's in the past," she said dismissively. "Now, tell me about—"

"Nanami?" he guessed.

"Tai," she warned.

"Why didn't you like her?" he pressed. He stared at her, waiting for her to respond.

"I didn't not like her."

"You can say it. I don't really like her either." He needed her to admit it. He didn't want to hear it from Mimi or have to infer it for himself. He wanted it from her, straight from her lips. "We're friends. You can tell me anything. Just say it."

"Fine." She sighed. "It's because you two had nothing in common, and you were only dating her because you thought she was pretty."

It wasn't the answer he was looking for. "That's it? There was no other reason?"

"Yes, what else would it be?" she asked. "Anyway, I'm glad you learned your lesson."

His disappointment turned into anger once again, and he wanted to tell her the same thing. That she and Matt had nothing in common, and she was dating him because she thought he was pretty.

No matter what she said to try and convince him and herself, he knew that was why. There was no other reason she could possibly like him. Matt was selfish and difficult and secretive. He was so unworthy of Sora that the thought of them together made him want to explode.

Three weeks.

If he had realised his feelings for Sora just three weeks earlier than he had, she could be his. This would be a proper date, and it would be his SMS making her smile like that.

He felt sick.

"Tai, what's wrong? You look ill."

"I'm fine."

She frowned concernedly. "Do you want to go?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine."

"Okay, the more times you say that, the less fine you seem."

"I'm fine." He shook his head hard to try and get rid of the dizzying feeling. He said the first lie that came to him. "I had an intense workout earlier. That's all."

She instantly looked furious. "You said you didn't! I knew you were lying! I knew it!"

"Yeah, I lied." He stood up. "I'm going to use the toilet for a second."

She too stood up, back to looking worried. "Tai, do you need to vomit? We can leave. I can ask for the bill now, and—"

"No, I just need to take a leak."

She frowned. "Can you please just try to be less vulgar?"

"I tried. I said I was going to use the toilet, and you thought I was going to throw up."

She sighed, giving up. "Fine, go. Do you want dessert, or should I ask for the bill?"

He couldn't eat dessert, not when he couldn't even finish his steak. He went to the washroom and stared at himself in the mirror. He looked fine, though his insides were splitting.

Everything was fine. It wasn't the end of the world.

He splashed water on his face, telling himself to stop freaking out. It was one thing to like Sora if she liked her back, but he had just confirmed that she didn't.

No, in fact, she liked somebody else.

He was almost angry at the revelation, though he supposed he shouldn't have been so shocked. She had a boyfriend, and she liked him. Duh, that's why people dated.

He told himself to think positively.

At least he no longer had to worry about her. He liked Sora, Sora liked Matt, Matt liked Sora. He was the clear loser here, and he'd just have to tough it up and move on. It was the same with his soccer matches. He hated losing, but losses were inevitable. There was no use in wallowing in self-pity when the next game was on the horizon.

But this wasn't a meaningless soccer game, where he could have a second shot at the championship title next year. This was Sora, and there was only one of her.

Perhaps if he could somehow make her fall _out_ of love with Matt—

No, he had to stop. That would be crazy. He couldn't get between them or try and sabotage them when Matt had done nothing wrong. Rather, he had clearly done something right because Sora now liked him.

He had to stop thinking about it. It was making him nauseous.

He splashed water on his face again and dried himself with a paper towel. He looked at his reflection in the mirror.

There was nothing else to do. He just had to get over her.

He took a breath and nodded at his reflection, then left the washroom. He stopped by the waiters' station and felt around his back pocket for his wallet.

Even though the night had been a disappointment and he probably couldn't afford it even if it hadn't, he paid for their meal. It had gone differently in his mind. He had envisioned paying for a swooning Sora, who would become instantly taken by him smoothly paying for their first date as a couple.

But no. He was just paying because he didn't want to look like the jackass who made a girl pay for his meal.

He signed his name on the bill, trying to disregard that the total was in the triple digits. He saw that Sora had ordered a dessert anyway, though he couldn't eat it if his life depended on it.

Back at the table, Sora looked at him anxiously.

"Are you all right?" she asked the moment he appeared beside her.

He flashed a fake smile, one he knew could look genuine. "Yep."

She didn't press it further, probably to avoid another argument. When the waiter finally came with their bill, he also had a small box with him. Sora's eyes widened when she saw the bill, but she waited until the waiter had gone to yell at him.

"You paid?" she hissed dangerously, her eyes flashing. "Tai, this was supposed to be my treat!"

"Come on now. You didn't really think I'd let you pay for a dinner at Moriali's, did you? It's not a big deal." He peered curiously at the box the waiter had given her. "What's that?"

"Pay attention to the problem at hand, Kamiya." She put her handbag on her lap and began to fish around in it, eventually pulling out banknotes. She held them out to him. "Here."

"Sora, it's fine."

"Tai, I insist."

"I also insist."

"Tai." She was using her warning voice and looking at him disapprovingly. He called it her mumsy face.

"Sora," he mimicked.

She sighed and put some of the money back into her handbag. "Fine, how about this? We each pay for our own meals."

"For the last time, it's fine. Don't feel bad because I _wanted_ to pay and—"

"It's not that," she muttered, setting the money in front of him. He stared at her until she accidentally made eye contact with him, and she mumbled, "If you pay for me, it'll be too much like a date."

He didn't say anything, just staring at her.

She sighed again. "Think about it, Tai. You'd be paying for my Friday night dinner at the most posh restaurant in the city. What does that sound like to you?"

He knew it sounded like a date, but he pretended to be oblivious. "It sounds like you have an awesome friend."

She sighed. "You're really sweet, but it makes me uncomfortable. We'll just each pay for our own and call it even, deal?"

_Uncomfortable_.

Her word choice bothered him.

"Besides, I bought this for Matt, so it's weird if you pay for his cake, right?"

She had said it light-heartedly, but it only made him feel more bothered. More than bothered. A little angry all over again. He tried not to glare as she forcefully stuffed the money in his hand, and he crushed the banknotes in his fist.

"So, shall we go?" she asked, looking satisfied that he wasn't giving her money back to her.

He looked at her stiffly, not moving. "Matt doesn't like cake."

She looked back at him in confusion, as if this were the first time she'd ever heard such information. "What do you mean?"

He searched her face for any sign of humour. Matt was a notoriously picky eater, and even he knew that Matt didn't like sweets. Did Sora not know that about him?

If she gave that cake to him, he knew that Matt wouldn't like it. Matt was good at not talking about things, but if there was one emotion Matt couldn't hide, it was discontent. Tai knew he wouldn't be able to pretend he liked it, and he grew strangely pleased by the prospect.

"Oh, nothing. I just said that because Matt doesn't like anything, but I'm sure he'll like anything you give him," he played off nonchalantly.

Sora frowned. "Tai, you're doing it again. He doesn't not like anything. He likes plenty of things."

"I'm sure he does, Sor." It was annoying that she was still defending him, but he didn't mind as much this time since he had done it deliberately. He stood up and smiled, offering a hand. "Let's go."

She took his hand politely but let go the moment she was standing.

As they walked outside, Tai asked sarcastically, "Am I allowed to take you home, or will that make you uncomfortable too?"

She immediately crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Joke," he covered. "Want to take a cab?" He glanced down at her heels.

She looked at her mobile and looked unsurely back at him. "Actually, I don't think I'm going home yet…"

He shrugged. "All right then. What do you want to do?"

She gave him a look that he couldn't read.

"What?" he asked.

She intensified her look.

He mirrored it to let her know that she hadn't made it any clearer.

She sighed, evidently exasperated with his inability to pick up on her body language.

"I think I'm going to go to Matt's for a while…" She looked shyly at the box in her hand. "I want to surprise him."

Ugh.

He held in the overwhelming urge to roll his eyes and say another snarky comment.

"We can still split a cab though," she added quickly.

He didn't want to help pay for a cab that would take Sora to Matt. He'd rather just throw the money away.

"I think I'll just walk."

"Are you sure? His place is on the way, so it won't be that big of a detour."

"Nah, I'm okay."

She looked hesitant but gave up trying to convince him. He flagged down a passing cab and opened the door for her to get inside, to which she thanked him. Their goodbyes were short, and he watched as the car sped away before he too started walking in the same direction.

It was funny.

He never really got why Matt was so dead set on labelling him as his rival. They were such different people that a rivalry seemed unnecessary to him. Matt wasn't a threat to his soccer position. He wasn't a threat to Matt's band. However, perhaps he understood him a little more, now that there was something they both wanted.

No, that was wrong. He wanted her, but Matt already had her. He could've had her, but Matt swooped in first and—

He needed to stop thinking about it. It was over. He had confirmed it tonight, and he wasn't going to wallow in it. Sora was taken; on to the next one. There were much better fish in the sea. Girls who were nicer and hotter and smarter and better. The possibilities were endless, and besides, he didn't have time for a girlfriend. He had the championship to strive for, exams coming up, uni preparations to tend to. It was good things had worked out this way. In fact, he should have been _thanking_ Matt for getting Sora off his hands…

Even he couldn't admit to his own self that he sounded convincing. No, he just sounded pathetic, futilely trying to convert a negative to a positive.

He was still thinking about it. Why? Why was he still thinking about it? He needed to take his mind off it somehow.

He'd go play soccer. That always helped him, and he'd been slacking off a little. He had promised his mother not to ruin his dress shoes again, but she'd get over it.

He took out his mobile and scrolled through his contacts.

He'd invite Davis, who could definitely use the extra practice. That, and the fact that Davis' obnoxiousness also helped him take his mind off things was a nice bonus.

It rang thrice before Davis answered lazily, "Hello?"

He heard crunching on the other line. "It's me. What're you doing?"

"Watching telly and eating, of course. What are you doing?"

"I'm thinking about going to the soccer pitch for a little bit. Want to come?"

Davis groaned. "Now?"

"Yes, now. Bring me a pair of shoes while you're at it. And a soccer ball."

Another groan. "But it's already late."

"Who cares? We don't have school tomorrow."

"But I already showered."

"Take another one."

"But… er, but… ugh, do I have to?"

The way Davis whinged made it seem like he was asking him for the greatest inconvenience in the world. He sighed and decided to let his junior have his way this time. "Fine, go watch your show."

Davis chuckled. "Sorry, Captain. Maybe tomorrow. Oh, actually, I can't do tomorrow. I have to work on a dumb group project. Sunday? No, never mind. I have family plans I can't get out of."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll just see you at practice on Monday," Tai concluded before hanging up.

Whether it was his disappointment in Sora, Davis' lack of excitement or both, he too felt his motivation leave him and decided to go straight home.

* * *

He had never really minded it before, but he now appreciated that his dad worked late. It meant he could play his bass as loudly and as repeatedly as he wanted to.

He accidentally struck the wrong chord, clashing against the flow of the music.

Or, in circumstances like this, he didn't have to feel embarrassed or self-conscious of his abilities because he knew nobody was listening. He played the verse over a few more times to keep it in memory, then decided the whole thing sounded awful and crossed it out completely. He tapped his pencil against the stand, trying to think of a new melody when the doorbell rang.

He looked at the clock. His dad had come home earlier than he thought he would. He closed his notebook and went to get the door, deciding his dad must have forgotten his keys. When he opened it, however, he saw his girlfriend instead.

"Sora," he said in surprise.

"Hi."

He was so surprised that she was there that he forgot his manners, simply staring at her. Why was she in a dress?—Oh. She must have come over after her dinner with Tai.

"Er, are you busy? Can I come in?" she asked finally.

"Yeah, er, sorry." He quickly widened the door to let her inside. She smiled, he smiled back, but neither said anything.

It had been nearly five weeks that they had been dating, but their budding relationship still had those shy and awkward moments.

To be honest, he kind of hated it. He couldn't wait until they'd be completely comfortable around each other.

They sat down on the table, and Sora opened the box she had been carrying, revealing a large slice of cake. "I brought you dessert from Moriali's. Doesn't it look amazing?"

He stared at it.

He didn't have a sweet tooth. At all. In fact, he wasn't a fan of sweet things in general, and he could already feel his palette disapprove the decadent chocolate cake she had brought.

Despite this, he was touched that she had thought of him. He thanked her, and she looked pleased.

"So how was dinner?"

"Expensive," she answered immediately. "I can't believe Tai made me go. He didn't even finish his meal."

"Yeah…" He could already tell where this conversation was heading. She was going to self-diagnose him with having some sort of health problem due to him not finishing his meal. He diverted the subject. "I don't really like that place."

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "I just don't."

She smiled knowingly. "Is it because you took Jun there?"

Her guess took him by surprise, mostly because it was correct. The worst date of his life. An hour of his life he'd never get back, made worse now by the fact that his girlfriend had also taken Tai there.

He didn't want to answer her, so he chose to change the topic. "So why did you come over?"

He hadn't meant it to be rude, but her change in expression showed that she had taken it as more than just an innocent question.

"I thought I'd surprise you." Her voice was meek and she looked unsure. "Am I being a burden?"

He mentally kicked himself. "No, not at all. Sorry. I was, er, very surprised."

He hated that he was so unapproachable. It seemed every time he said something, somebody would take it the wrong way and think he was annoyed. He wished he could be more easy-going, if only to prevent moments like this.

The atmosphere became awkward and quiet once more.

"So what were you doing?" she asked finally, peering at his bass and notebook.

"Writing some music. It's nothing." He put his hand over his notebook and pushed it aside.

She brightened as she edged closer to him. "Really? Can I see?"

Once again, he found himself at loss of what to do. He didn't like showing his work until it was completed—to anyone. Even if it was her, he wasn't sure he wanted to break away from that custom.

"It's nothing really," he said coolly, reaching for the box she had brought. "Let's eat this."

She took the hint and agreed, so he went into the kitchen to fetch two forks.

"It looks so good!" Sora gazed at it longingly, while he tried to hide his opposing opinion from showing in his expression. She then looked up at him and smiled. "You take the first bite since I got it for you. Tell me if it's good."

She watched as he took the first piece, and he made an effort to pretend to enjoy it. He had noticed earlier in their relationship that she would think he hated every meal they ever had because he made no mention of it. In actuality, he saw no point in pointing out whether he liked something or not. If he liked it, he'd eat it. If he didn't, he wouldn't.

He chewed, swallowed and decided he didn't like it. It was too sweet. Something he might have enjoyed when he was eight, not eighteen. It didn't matter though, because he was going to pretend to like it for her.

"Yum," he said with a smile.

"Right?" she agreed, seeming satisfied by his response as she took a mouthful too. "So what were you writing?"

"A song."

"I know that, but what kind of song? Is it a new one?"

"Kind of."

"Is it coming along well? Do you think it's going to be something special?"

"Not really."

He had come off as standoffish, and he knew he had hurt her feelings again when it become quiet again. She only ate, looking at him sometimes to give a slight, almost forced smile. He wanted to say something reassuring or even funny, _anything_ to lift this barrier between them.

Instead, he settled for the highly unsatisfying, "This is really good cake."

She looked at him, smirking a little. "For loving it so much, you've only taken one bite. I'm eating the whole thing here."

Embarrassed, he hurriedly took another bite, larger than the last to make it look like he wanted it. Now both of them had cake in their mouths, and it was quiet again. The silence was uncomfortable, even for him. He wished he had turned on the telly or radio or something.

"I'm really glad you came over," he said finally, pushing the last piece of the cake towards her.

"I'm glad you're glad."

"The cake was good."

"Really? You only had two bites."

"I'd just finished dinner. I wasn't very hungry."

"Oh… Sorry, I didn't think about that…"

"No, what? No, don't… apologise… It's not your fault. It was still really good. I…" He didn't continue his sentence, knowing anything he'd add would only make him sound even worse.

Silence fell upon them again.

They weren't always like this, and he told himself it was because they were still in the early stages of their relationship. It wouldn't have been so bad if he knew how to handle it, but so far he hadn't figured out a way. It wasn't even until recently that he noticed their silent pauses had bothered her because they hadn't really bothered him. But now that he knew that they bothered her, they really, _really_ bothered him.

"Well, I should go home," Sora announced, standing up. "My mum might get worried."

That was her excuse every time. He was starting to wonder whether her mum actually worried or if Sora just used that as her excuse whenever things got too awkward between them.

Regardless, it wasn't like he was going to question her.

"I'll walk you home," he offered, standing up as well.

"No, no. That's stupid," she said defiantly, placing a palm to his shoulder to stop him. "I'll be fine. It's not even ten minutes away."

He wished she would just let him do it. Ten minutes was still ten minutes she would be walking home by herself. However, she had made it clear to him in the beginning of their relationship that she didn't want to be treated like a damsel in distress.

He didn't think she was a damsel in distress, but still…

"I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

There it was.

It was that tone that encouraged him. It provided him some security because it meant she wanted to see him too.

He nodded and lowered his head to her height to kiss her, and she shyly kissed back before breaking away.

"Thanks for the cake. I loved it, I swear."

She nodded happily. "Good night."

He watched her leave and waited until the doors of the elevator for his level closed to shut his own.

He wanted to find a way for them to be more comfortable around each other. She was shy, so was he and he felt like he as the man should do something about it.

A large part of him wanted to be that kind of person and boyfriend to her, but another part of him thought that this was who he was, and forcing himself to change for her would be a lie to both him and them.

Then again, he could say the same for her.

Tai used to often complain that Sora would nag at him too much. Matt noticed that Sora never nagged at him, even when he could tell she wanted to. He wished she would just do it. He wouldn't mind, because at least then it would mean that she was being herself too.

* * *

She couldn't tell whether she regretted going over to Matt's or not. He had seemed so busy, and she hoped she hadn't intruded. Or worse, she hoped she hadn't offended him. He had become so stiff when she had asked about his music. She had just been curious, but he had remained adamant about not showing her.

She wasn't experienced with relationships, so she couldn't tell if they all started off this awkward. She wanted more than anything for this thing with Matt to work, but sometimes she wished he would just communicate with her. He was a mysterious guy, and she always had to rely on guesswork. She didn't like it because what if she guessed wrong? It was very possible. Since dating him, she found out things about him that she wouldn't have expected. His best subject was Physics, he doused everything in mayonnaise, he read proverbs. The Matt she thought she knew couldn't care less about science, wouldn't ruin the flavour of foods with such an offensive condiment and certainly couldn't recite proverbs. He surprised her more and more each day, even with the most insignificant of details. She loved spending time with him and getting to know him, and she hoped he felt the same.

At least he had enjoyed the cake. For that, she had been relieved. Tai had made her nervous by claiming that he wouldn't, but once again it was just Tai finding another opportunity to poke fun at him. He used to not do it so often, but now he took every chance he could get. They were getting old. After all, _he_ was the one who had told her to go for him, that night he told her she was like a sister to him.

Despite being happy with Matt now, the memory still brought a bitter taste to her mouth. Perhaps it was because he had made her feel so utterly stupid that night. Because he had with that one sentence confirmed his complete lack of interest in her, while she had embarrassingly hung on to his every word like some sort of puppet. In retrospect, she couldn't imagine what she had seen in Tai when Matt had been right there all along. Tai was friend material, Matt was boyfriend material and for a moment she hadn't been able to distinguish that. She supposed she owed Tai a thank you for helping her see, even though he had completely humiliated her in the process. She had looked at him as her crush for so long that she had forgotten how great of a friend he really was. She so often thought she was the one taking care of him that she forgot he was capable of returning the favour.

Her relationship with Matt was proof enough.

She winced as she thought back to his behaviour that night. She had noticed Tai had been acting weird in the past few weeks, and she was certain it was due to stress. He was definitely looking less lively lately, but what bothered her was that he was pretending like everything was fine—like she wouldn't see right through that act. She had seen the way he had been pushing himself these past few months, and it hurt that he felt the need to do so. She couldn't help but feel worried for his health, but she knew she only annoyed him. He had even lied to her during dinner, claiming he hadn't been training when she knew he was. Who was he kidding? Soccer was all he ever did.

She felt sorry for him. He couldn't even finish his meal, and Tai was usually the kind of person who would clear his plate and everybody else's for that matter. She also noticed that he was forcing himself to make conversation at times, something neither of them ever had to strain themselves to do around each other.

She suddenly felt terrible for letting her anger get the best of her and scolding him so much. He had just sat there, taking everything she said in without ever really fighting back. It was unlike him, so how stressed out and pressured must he have been to sit back in silence? How heartless was she to pile on more?

She pulled out her mobile and started typing.

'_Thanks for being my dinner date tonight. I had a lot of fun!'_

It wasn't until hours later when she had lied down in her bed to sleep that she realised Tai had never responded back.

* * *

Sorry if the second half is rushed! I wanted to get this chapter up before the weekend so I could let you guys know that Tai is set to make an appearance on this Sunday's episode of Digimon (March 4)! My cousin said he's also confirmed for the March 18 episode, and he _may_ appear in the March 11 and 25 episodes, with the latter being the finale. I'll be more than willing to provide synopses or translations via PM for anyone interested, so just let me know if you are.  
(To those who were curious about the new Digimon episode Tai appeared in on January 8, nothing really happened. You just saw his face for a split second.)

Relevant to the story, note that not everything thought by every character is reflective of actuality (in this chapter and others). I hope I made this obvious, but I thought I'd point it out just in case.

Irrelevant trivia you don't need to read:  
On the Toei website, there are loads of Digimon polls where Japanese fans ranked characters based on the questions asked. I read through all thirty of them, and the commentary is actually very funny. If you can read and understand Japanese, I recommend you check them out. Anyway, the seventh question stuck out to me because it ranks combinations*. The winners were: 10) Angemon and Angewomon, 9) Matt and Mimi, 8) Matt and TK, 7) Matt and Gabumon, 6) Joe and Gomamon, 5) Davis and Kari, 4) Tai and Matt, 3) Izzy and Mimi, 2) Tai and Sora and 1) Kari and TK. I think Takari is pretty unstoppable, but Taiora came in second! The commentary accredits this to their combination in soccer and Tai's email with the heart. The results are only reflective of those who decided to participate in the poll, but I was excited nevertheless!

* Modern Japanese borrows a lot of English words that may have different meanings to an English native. "Combination" is kind of Japanglish for pairing. It doesn't necessarily indicate romance, but I do think the majority of them are popular couples.

Sorry if these aren't interesting to you. I like to provide international fans with information I find on Japanese sites, as they're new to me too since I originally watched Digimon in English.


	14. Chapter 14

Remember a few chapters ago when I said I would stop using Akita? It was probably the moment I published that chapter that I changed my mind. How typical. I need someone to represent Tai's soccer team, which was originally going to be Davis, but then I realised he wouldn't cut it because he idolises Tai too much. Don't worry; I have other plans for him.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 14**

He was relying on instinct to get himself home. His physical body was too numb from practice and his mental state was elsewhere to be bothered with directions.

Odaiba had finally lost their first game of the season, and of course it would be one that had actually mattered. It had been against Ichioka High School from Osaka in the first leg of the national high school tournament. It had only been by a small margin and they had had an away game disadvantage, but it was a loss nevertheless. They had lost 5-4 on penalties because Davis had missed**,** but he couldn't help but feel like he could have helped avoid it. After all, if he could have just made one goal, they never would have been forced to go to penalty shootouts in the first place.

What had made it worse was that they had lost to players who played as dirtily as those on Ichioka's squad. From faking fouls to verbal insults, it was one of the more unmanageable teams he had ever had the displeasure to play against. One defender had even tackled Tai, hitting his left leg but not causing any real injury but a minor scrape on his calf. The Ichioka player had received a yellow card, but Tai personally thought he deserved more than just a warning, like maybe a swift kick in the face.

Still, a loss was a loss no matter the conditions, and Coach had been downright livid, even calling the entire squad in for an emergency training session the following day. Tai especially was given a hard time, and Coach had even pulled him aside to reprimand him. He didn't understand why Tai wasn't able to avoid the tackle, and he critiqued him for showing his unprofessionalism by getting visibly upset when Ichioka's defenders had smothered him.

Then there was what Coach had told him right as practice ended. He had reminded Tai that they were in the knockout stages, and they couldn't afford another loss. In order to rebuild his confidence in the team, Coach was going to make Davis a substitute again. Tai had asked if he could be the one to break it to him, knowing how much it would crush Davis' already bruised ego. So far, he hadn't been able to do it. When practice ended, the boy had looked so battered that it felt almost cruel to break it to him when he was already down.

However, the worst stress of them all was Sora. Pressure-related stress, such as everyone's expectations of him for soccer, wasn't so hard to deal with. All he had to do was forget about everyone else and perform his best. Soccer was something he was good at, something he had been doing his entire life. When it came to more personal things, he wasn't quite as controlled. His mind constantly drifted to Sora, his lost chance and her current relationship. Trying to forget her was proving harder than he thought it would be, and knowing he had to give her up only made him want her more. He had convinced himself that as long as he didn't interfere, it wasn't wrong. He hadn't seen her since their dinner. That was barely two nights ago, but it felt so much longer. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't been scouring the stands for her throughout their game yesterday either. He knew she wouldn't be there. The game was held in Osaka, but it wasn't like she had surprised him at away games before. Yet another thing he had taken for granted for years.

The loss, the scolding, Davis, Sora… It was becoming too much. Not to mention the Physics exam he was bound to fail the following day. He hadn't studied for it at all, and he knew he was too tired to do anything but shower and sleep the moment he'd get home. He wouldn't have cared if it weren't for the fact he needed good grades in order to stay on the team.

His stress levels were at an all-time high, and while he typically thought of himself as a person who handled stress well, he was starting to get overwhelmed. It was one thing after another. He couldn't focus on all of them, but he couldn't focus on just one either.

* * *

In an effort to not lose Sora completely to Matt, he had been taking off his lunch practice sessions to eat with the two of them. They weren't particularly lovey-dovey or anything, but he still felt like the awkward third wheel—like the two of them secretly wished he'd leave even though they wouldn't dare say it in his face. He was willing to endure the awkwardness, however, if it meant they wouldn't be alone together.

Right now, he wanted to strangle himself.

Matt, talking about his uneventful life. Sora, hanging on his every word. He bit into his sandwich, not really caring that Matt had a doctor's appointment in two days. His eyes wandered around Matt's classroom and accidentally made eye contact with a girl he had tried to use a couple days ago to make Sora jealous. It had been in vain, as Sora had only encouraged him. He quickly grew fascinated by the poster behind her, until Sora's hand invaded his line of sight.

"Have some chocolate," she offered cheerily.

He grinned and took the small piece from her hand, thanking her. He would have kept smiling too, except she then turned to Matt with another piece. He too looked pleased—a little too much for a guy who complained to him every Valentine's Day that he didn't like chocolate.

"It's fine. You can have it."

"No, Matt. It's for you."

"No, it's yours. You eat it."

"But I brought it for you."

"But I want you to have it."

"No, I want _you_ to have it."

Tai rolled his eyes. Somebody just take the damn thing already.

"I'll eat it," he offered sarcastically.

He caught a glimpse of Matt's glare, to which he smirked back tightly.

"We can split it," Matt compromised to Sora with an expression so kind it didn't suit him. He took the piece and broke it in half, extending the larger part to her.

Sora looked at him as if he had just discovered the cure for cancer.

Tai rolled his eyes again. He literally couldn't take this.

He supposed they could be worse. Compared to some of his other friends who were dating, they were quite mild. School protocol forbade them from displaying their affection publicly, so all he ever really saw was them holding hands.

He had once been caught in the middle of a drunk Akita and his girlfriend's fervent snog session, but that didn't compare to the fire that burned in him whenever he saw Matt and Sora do something as innocent as holding each other's hand.

"Lunch ends soon. Want to go back?"

Sora looked at the wall clock, then back at him. "There's still ten minutes left."

"Yeah, that's soon," Tai said matter-of-factly.

"Oh… Well, I think I'm going to stay a little longer. You can go ahead first, if you want."

Ugh.

"No, I'll stay. Matt, tell us more about your doctor's appointment."

The next eight minutes felt more like thirty before Sora finally decided she could part ways with her stupid boyfriend. He purposely stared at them as they said goodbye to prevent them from having any sort of intimate farewell, though they probably wouldn't have even if he hadn't.

"You looked bored today," Sora said once they had left Matt's classroom. "You don't have to eat with us if you don't want to."

"I wasn't bored." He saw that she didn't seem convinced, so he put on a fake smile. "Beats soccer training anyway."

Sora looked like she realised something, then put on a serious expression. "Are you still upset about the loss…?"

He pretended to play it cool. "No, not really."

"You know, Tai, I'm a little surprised you've been skipping your training to eat lunch with us. I mean, not that I'm complaining because I thought you were being excessive anyway, but… it doesn't seem like you."

In the past, a loss meant he went into overdrive, watching the game tape over and over again and practising each chance he got. He had tried to watch Saturday's game earlier in the week and just grew annoyed by his team's lack of chemistry and the other team's dirty plays, so he turned it off not even halfway through the game.

He shrugged. "No need to kill myself over a team like them. We have the second leg this weekend, and we'll show them who the better team is then."

She seemed pleased by his words. "That's the spirit! Plus, all your friends will be at that game! Joe even said he'd come from uni to watch you! You guys are going to be awesome!"

His smile turned genuine by her excited tone. "Thanks, Sor."

"No problem." She smiled pleasantly at him, then turned more solemn. "I worry about you, Tai Kamiya."

He shrugged.

"I'm serious. You've been acting weird for a few weeks now. I know you hate when I nag you so I won't force you to tell me why, but you know I'm always here for you, right?"

He nodded. "I know, Sor. I'm here for you too."

She mimicked his nod and held her hand in the air. He laughed a little, then high-fived it.

* * *

"All right class. I'm letting you out early. Once I give you back your exams, you may leave."

He was never one to get too uneasy over his exam scores, but he found himself biting the inside of his lip nervously as their professor started handing out the exams they had taken earlier in the week. His professors always passed out exams in order from the best to the worst scores, which was annoying when he already knew he hadn't done very well. Sora predictably got hers within the first ten exams, but she waited for him to get his.

More and more students began to leave, and he began to grow anxious that his exam might be that dreaded last one.

"Mr Kamiya, I expected better from you," his professor said disappointingly, handing him one of the last few.

D+.

"I thought you said you studied!" Sora whispered beside him.

He didn't respond, irritation consuming him.

_D+_? Why the hell didn't she just give a C- so he'd at least pass? He swore that if he ever became a schoolteacher, he'd never be so stingy.

"Shit," he muttered.

"Tai," Sora said warningly.

"I can't believe she gave me a D+." He stuffed the exam in his bag, trying to do some mental math. Since he got a D+, he'd have to get at least an A- on the midterm exam in order to qualify to play for the second half of the season. An A- on a Physics midterm exam. There was no way in hell that would be happening unless he spent days studying for it, which he didn't have. Damn it. Damn it all.

"Tai, come on. We're the only two left."

Indeed, the remaining students had left in shame, but he wasn't quite ready to admit defeat. He knew it most likely wouldn't help, but he felt he couldn't just stand by idly either.

"Hold on. I'm going to talk to Takatori."

Sora also looked sceptical but nodded. "Good luck. I'll wait for you outside."

He waited until she had shut the door to go up to his professor. "Mrs Takatori, do you have a moment?"

"Yes, Mr Kamiya, go ahead."

"I was wondering if there were any way I could raise my score."

Takatori sighed and pushed her glasses up her nose. "I assure you that the D+ I gave you was extremely generous on my part because I know it's important for you to stay on your team."

His determination quickly turned to embarrassment. D+ was considered "extremely generous." That had to be a first.

"Isn't there anything I could do? Extra credit or anything?"

"Mr Kamiya, if you want to raise your grade, you'll just have to study hard and do better on the midterm like everybody else. I can tell when my students haven't studied, and I'm not going to reward you for failing to prepare yourself for an exam you have known about all semester. I too am proud of your sport achievements, but your education comes first."

He grew annoyed. He didn't want or need a bloody lecture. Perhaps Mrs Takatori had all the time in the world to study Physics, but he sure as hell didn't.

"So there's nothing I can do?" he asked again.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help."

He tried not to glare. She _could_ help. She just wouldn't. There was a difference, not that he could disrespect his professor by saying something like that.

He gave up and left, where Sora was waiting for him outside of their classroom.

"What did she say?" Sora asked anxiously.

"She said no," Tai mumbled.

Bloody fantastic. He opened up the to-do list he had made in his mind and added yet another thing he would have to worry about. He had to win the Saturday's game, and since it was an away game for Ichioka, his team would have to score over twice as many shots as them in order to qualify for the next round. He still had to tell Davis about his demotion and deal with whatever emotional wreck Davis would become after that. He had to study for his exams and somehow get an improbable A- on his Physics one.

"You'll do better on the next one," Sora said reassuringly.

Not to mention doing something about his unsolicited feelings for the girl standing beside him.

When he didn't respond, she cautiously asked, "Are you all right?"

"I'm stressed."

"Tai, it's just one exam. You still have the midterm."

"Which will only be harder." He winced. How the hell was he supposed to make an A- when he hadn't even deserved a D+?

"School isn't over for another seven minutes," Sora brought up, looking at the wall clock. "Want to get a snack before your practice?"

She was trying to distract him with food. That usually worked, but he wasn't hungry. Still, he didn't want to pass up an opportunity to hang out with her, so he agreed.

Whenever class ended early like this, Sora would always stay with him until his soccer practice started. He had always figured it was because she was bored and had nothing better to do, though he now suspected it had more to do with her liking him at the time. Today, he knew she was staying behind for somebody else, but he tried not to think about it.

They decided on ice cream and sat outside because the weather was so nice.

"Ice cream makes everything better," Sora joked.

He wasn't even in the mood to force himself to smile, so he just looked at her blankly.

"Come on, Tai, we all get bad grades every now and then."

"I don't care about the bad grade. I care about the bad grade compromising my position on the team." He shuddered as he thought about what Coach would do with him, especially since he was already so angry by Tai's underwhelming performance on Saturday. He didn't want to think about that either. He wanted to get it off his mind. He wanted to get everything off his mind and just take one selfish moment aside to relax.

He turned to Sora sitting beside him. "Want to go on a run with me tomorrow morning before school?"

He knew she liked running, and even though he wasn't a fan, perhaps it would help alleviate some of his stress, if only momentarily.

She looked straight ahead, looking unsure. "Well, I usually walk to school with Matt, but I'll ask him."

Of course. Why hadn't he already assumed that'd be her answer?

He held in the urge to roll his eyes. "Want to watch our team practice?"

She took another bite of her ice cream, and he could tell she was nervous to answer him. He didn't falter, waiting for her to answer.

"Actually, Matt and I had plans to study together after school."

Before he could stop himself, he let out a loud, annoyed sigh.

She finally turned to make eye contact with him, though her hesitant expression was replaced with a heated one. "Tai, I'm warning you."

"Whatever, Sor."

"I'm not having an argument I've already had with you again."

"You're the one talking. I haven't said anything."

"You're so rude." She stood up from their bench. "Bye."

His mind acted before processing anything, and he grabbed her wrist to prevent her from storming off. "You're all up Matt's ass, you know that?"

"_Excuse me_?"

"You're letting him change you, and it's annoying."

She threw his grasp off with a swift, hard flick of her wrist. "How _dare_ you, Tai Kamiya! For your information, I haven't changed at all. You're the one who's changed, and I'm sick of your selfish attitude. I don't even know why I try to help you out, when I should have known you'd just throw this back at me."

"_Help me_? If you want to help me, go on a run with me tomorrow morning!"

"First of all, I said I'd ask Matt. School gets out in less than five minutes. You can't even wait five minutes for an answer, Tai? And second, I don't even want to go on a run with you! I'd probably go to school in the worst mood ever, because somehow you'll find a way to criticise me about nothing—"

"Why do you have to consult Matt over everything you do?" he interrupted, also standing up.

She threw her head back and laughed bitterly. "I can't even believe how much of a hypocrite you're being right now, Tai. Let's see, exactly how many times have you blown me off for soccer?"

"That's completely different!"

"How? Because I actually make an effort to hang out with you? Because you prioritised a sport over me, while I'm just respecting my boyfriend? You're right, Tai. I'm such a terrible person."

Sora had a way of making every argument they had be his fault. He hated it, even though they were sometimes true.

"Soccer's my future, Sor. If I hadn't practised, I wouldn't have gotten any uni offers!"

"And now that you have some, you have time for your friends again. Great. Good to know we're your second choice."

She was throwing the argument back at him, and it was making him angry and flustered. "I just think it's stupid that you're letting your boyfriend control your life."

"He's _not_ controlling my life!" She waved her arms in front of her to show her frustration. "You know what? I don't have to listen to this. You're being a huge jerk, and I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"That's fine with me, Sor. Go to your stupid boyfriend because it's not like I really wanted to go running with you anyway."

He could tell she was livid because she balled her fists, which then turned white from pressure.

Good. He wanted her to be in a bad mood.

From past experience, he knew what was coming next. She was going to storm off after saying something petty, but before she could do it, he stormed away first.

"You're such a jerk."

He pretended not to have heard her as he continued walking, knowing it would only make her angrier.

* * *

"_KAMIYA_!"

He jumped at the sound of his name and immediately turned around to see his coach glowering at him. While he had been standing in the field dumbly, the rest of the squad were at the sidelines.

"Sorry, Coach," he apologised quickly as he ran to join his team.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Kamiya? We just lost a game, and you aren't focusing at all! You…"

Coach continued to lecture him, but Tai wasn't listening, his newest fight with Sora the only thing on his mind. While it wasn't the worst fight they had ever gotten into, he didn't think he had ever been so angry with her. He knew it had been his fault for attacking her, but at the same time, he had only really told her the truth. He could have said it in a nicer way, but it wasn't like he had lied. Usually for arguments like this, he would apologise first just for the sake of apologising, but for this he didn't want to.

"I'm sorry, Coach," he apologised once he saw his lips had stopped moving.

"Pay attention, Kamiya! Practice is halfway over, and you've done nothing!"

Had it really been an hour? He couldn't even recall the first half since he spent the whole time being angry.

"We're going to do 1 vs. 1 drills. Kamiya, Otokawa, go!"

"Try to get it past me," Akita taunted with a grin.

He didn't return Akita's grin, simply setting the ball down in front of himself. He took a breath to try and clear his mind, but it didn't work.

Who the hell did Sora think she was, anyway? Going off about how he would choose soccer over her. It wasn't like he ever had a choice. With Matt, she was perfectly capable of—

"Sometime _today_, Kamiya!" Coach barked angrily.

Akita looked at him confusedly, and he quickly turned his attention back to the soccer ball. All he had to do was get it past Akita and their goalkeeper. This wouldn't be too hard.

He dribbled the ball and went towards the goal, but Akita seemed to guess his movement and in a flash the ball had been taken from him and kicked out of the sectioned area.

"Hell yeah!" Akita cried out happily, even doing an obnoxious celebratory dance. "In your face!"

He stared at the ball as it rolled off to the other side of the field before it registered that he would have to go after it.

"Kamiya, what the hell are you doing? Try again!"

He did, and while Akita wasn't able to steal the ball from him, he did manage to block his attempt at his goal, once again sending the ball out of bounds.

This time, Akita didn't seem so happy, simply giving him a puzzled look.

"_KAMIYA_!" Coach boomed furiously. "Three laps! Now!"

Tai did as he was told. Strangely, he wasn't embarrassed that he hadn't been able to get it past Akita's defence, nor was he frustrated that Coach had given up on him so quickly and banished him to run. He hadn't been in the mood to do anything anyway.

* * *

As practice ended and the rest of his team began to leave, Tai made eye contact with Coach. He gave him a warning look but didn't say anything as he too left, knowing Tai would understand.

Today was the deadline Coach had given him to tell Davis that he was back as a substitute. He had been putting it off, but if he didn't do it by today, Coach would. Davis would take the news hard no matter what, but he knew that unlike Coach, he wouldn't be so cold about it.

He should have done it yesterday, when he wasn't already angry about his fight with Sora.

"Hey Davis, can you stay behind for a sec?"

Davis looked knackered, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. He simply nodded, unable to actually speak.

He waited until all the other players left, then gave Akita, who was again staying behind, a look to go somewhere else. Akita took the hint but didn't move, simply acting interested in the writing on his water bottle label. Tai glared at him, but Akita purposely avoided his gaze.

"What's up, Tai?" Davis wheezed.

He disregarded Akita for the moment and grew nervous. He almost wanted to say it without looking him in the eye to make it easier on himself, but he knew he owed Davis at least that much.

"Look, Davis, I talked to Coach the other day…"

It was as if Davis' tiredness left him in a flash, replaced with a look of fear. "Is this about the Ichioka game? Does he still want to kill me?"

"No, he never wanted to kill you. He just…" Tai cleared his throat to stall for time as Davis stared at him anxiously. "He thinks maybe you should go back to being a substitute for now."

Davis didn't react the way he thought he would.

"Oh…" His head dropped slightly. "I get it. Yeah, it's no big deal. It's my fault we lost, so I should take the blame."

He could tell from his crestfallen face that he was upset, but Davis wasn't begging for another chance the way he thought he would.

Somehow, this was worse. He wasn't sure why, but it made him upset in a way that wasn't pity.

"It wasn't my decision," Tai insisted. "I tried to talk him out of it, but he thinks it's for the best."

"Yeah… I understand…"

He stood there awkwardly, trying to come up with something to say. He was usually good at being uplifting, but the words weren't coming to him. Whether it was because he didn't know what to say or because he knew he wouldn't mean anything he could say, he did not know.

The silence between the two of them was broken as Akita stepped up with a cheery grin. "Hey Motomiya, don't sweat it. You're only in your first year of high school. I was a substitute for my first two years too. Your time will come."

Davis smiled meekly, and Tai felt another spark of annoyance, this time aimed at Akita. Akita felt the same way about Davis that everybody else did, and it made him angry that he was lying to Davis with empty words.

He waited until the younger player had left and was out of earshot to call him out.

"Hypocrite."

Akita looked at him with a disturbed, confused look. "Are you talking to me?"

"No, I'm talking to that other guy here," Tai retorted sarcastically. "Yeah, you. What the hell did you say all that for? And I told you to go away. Why didn't you leave?"

Akita narrowed his eyes at him. "Okay, hotshot. First of all, I'm a member of this squad too. I don't need to 'go away' for something like that. Secondly, I said it to be encouraging because he looked like he was about to cry, and you were just standing there like an idiot. I didn't realise that wasn't allowed either."

"You're such an ass. Don't go talking shit, then putting up some front when you're face-to-face with him."

Davis had his fair share of lowerclassman hazing, and Akita had been one of the worst to him. Akita also had been vehemently against making Davis a starter, because Davis had taken the position from one of his best mates on the team. Tai said Davis had enormous potential; Akita said Davis wasn't up to par with the rest of the team. _Akita_ pointed out every flaw in Davis' plays. _Akita_ had rubbed salt on Davis' wounds after the Ichioka game by joking it had been Davis' fault they had lost. Bloody _Akita_ had no place trying to "encourage" Davis when he had been the most vocal about his scepticism towards him.

"What? Calm down, mate. Yeah, I agree with Coach that he should be made a substitute again, but it doesn't mean I don't like him. Motomiya's a cool guy."

"Whatever."

Akita looked annoyed but didn't press the issue, and they began their extra training without speaking. He didn't want to do it, especially with somebody as smarmy as Akita. They trained in silence, which Tai didn't find difficult to do. He just stuck to the regimen he had done before Akita had joined him, leaving Akita to do his own thing.

However, when Tai wordlessly took a break for water, his teammate finally spoke up. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Tai didn't respond, gulping down the contents of his water bottle as if he hadn't heard him.

He tried again. "You're acting like you're about two days away from your period. Something is obviously bothering you, so do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I don't want to talk about it," Tai growled lowly.

He expected Akita to snap back at him for his attitude, but once again Akita let it slide.

"Fine then. What do you want to do? I'm kind of tired of being on this field for so long. Want to go for a run or something?"

"No. I'm done."

Akita, usually eager to leave early, finally got annoyed. "Okay, what the hell is your problem? We just lost, so if we don't do well in the second leg, we'll be out of the tournament."

"Oh, is that what happens when you lose, Akita?" Tai asked sarcastically.

"I'm _saying_," Akita said with a clenched jaw, "we need to train more, so stop being a little bitch and do something. Don't think we haven't noticed that you've been slacking off lately. I turned a blind eye because it's you, but now that we've lost, the extra practice isn't going to hurt."

Tai narrowed his eyes at him. "Even when I'm slacking, I'm still better than you."

Akita looked even more annoyed. "I'm not saying I'm better than you. I'm saying you're slacking off, and—what the hell is the matter with you anyway? Why are you getting so defensive?"

"Nothing's the matter with me. I'm just tired of your haughty bullshit."

"Yeah, okay, that, but you've been really irritable lately, and today at practice you were absolute rubbish. Is everything okay?"

"Mind your own business. Everyone's allowed an off day."

He added Akita's incessant talking to his stress list. He threw his water bottle into his bag, then picked up the duffel to leave.

"Whatever man," Akita muttered, rolling his eyes. "You aren't God."

"Bye."

Akita stepped in front of him to stop him from walking off. "Look, I don't know if it's Coach or school or a girl or whatever, but stop letting it affect your game. I mean it. This is an eleven-man team. Don't drag us all down just because you have a problem."

Drag them down?

_Drag them down?_

He had pulled them out of a shithole and carried them to the top.

He stopped himself from strangling Akita. After what happened with Sora, the last thing he wanted was another fight, especially with someone who would fight back. Unable to take the tension, he walked passed him out of the field, not even bothering to answer.

His blood was boiling, and he seriously contemplated going back to the field to punch Akita in the face, but he pulled out his mobile instead.

"Hello?"

"It's Tai. Meet me at the soccer pitch in the park in ten minutes."

"Huh, what?" Davis sounded confused. "I just got out of the shower."

"I don't care. You have ten minutes."

"Er… okay," Davis agreed unsurely, "but I need more time to get over there, so—"

"You have ten minutes." Tai hung up, threw the mobile back in his bag then headed towards the park.

* * *

He was a simple man. There were only two things that he really wanted in his life: his old position as a centre-forward and Kari Kamiya's affection.

The first of these, soccer, had been taken away from him in April, the beginning of the school term. He had had so many hopes and goals for himself in high school. He was going to be a star. He'd start off beating Tai's record on the field, then replace him as the soccer team's captain the following year. He'd be the youngest captain in Odaiba High School history, and he'd lead his school to an undefeated streak until he graduated. His name would be made legendary, and everybody would look to him as a star. But he was none of these. He wasn't the star; Tai was. The way things were, he felt as if he might as well not be a part of the team. Since their win against Ken's team—where Tai had scored every goal—individual posters of the soccer squad had popped up around the school. Most of them were of Tai, but every starting member had at least one. Except him. He had yet to see a single one that was dedicated to him, and he knew it was because it didn't exist. He had checked every hall of that school building for it, but the only ones that mentioned his name were the ones made for the entire squad, 'David Motomiya' scribbled half-assedly on a corner. He was a disappointment and a loser, and it was his fault that they had lost the game against Ichioka. He wouldn't ever admit it to anyone, but he had cried a little over that game. He hadn't cried over a soccer match since he was a child, but the frustration of missing that one, easy goal—the only chance he had had that night—had been too much. He was a failure, and starting tomorrow he would be a lowly substitute again. He remembered the days in middle school when he'd depreciate the substitutes, and not even half a year later, he was in that exact same position. It wasn't common for year 10 pupils to be in the starting line-up anyway, but he had always thought he wasn't like every other year 10 pupil. It was just that he had thought he was so damn special, only to realise that he wasn't.

The other thing he wanted was Kari, who he was losing to _him_. That sickeningly sweet pretty boy who seemed to charm anyone who crossed his holy path. A friendship he had been forced into because of a technicality that they had both been chosen to save the world, and it was due to that stupid technicality that they were "friends." He didn't want to be TK's friend, but TK wanted to be his and there was nothing he could do other than oblige without being made out to be even more of a jackass than people already saw him as. It bothered him immensely that Kari was so close to him, and it bothered him even more that TK knew that and dangled it in his face. The world saw TK as perfect, but Davis knew better. TK was as flawed as the next human being, but he veiled it under that bogus nice-guy façade of his. TK acted like they were friends, but even he had to know they weren't. TK didn't take a thing he did seriously and almost saw him as entertainment. Sometimes he wondered if TK purposely acted closer to Kari than he really was to brag. Maybe that was a stretch, but he did use his closeness with Kari to manipulate him, like that night after Matt's concert, when he had wanted him to play billiards with him. He wasn't stupid. Not that anybody would ever believe him. Between the cool, gentle TK and the hotheaded, loud him, he was automatically set to be the loser. Everyone, including Kari, saw no wrong in TK Takaishi. He couldn't compete with somebody like that.

Between losing his position or Kari's lack of interest in him, he didn't know which was worse. He swore if he heard one more person tell him how useless he was at soccer or how great TK and Kari would look together, he would burst. He felt like a ticking time bomb with an unknown detonation time, each tick bringing him one second closer to the day he'd explode and everybody would hate him even more than they did now.

And he had nobody. He wasn't close to his sibling the way Kari was to Tai. He didn't have a million friends, and the ones he did have wouldn't understand. Ken, his best mate, was the star of his own soccer club. Tai was even bigger. TK was doing well in basketball, Cody in kendo and Yolei wouldn't give a damn. Not that he'd even have time to complain to them when he was always so busy congratulating them. Tai's love calls from various universities, Ken's inhuman achievements in everything he did, TK's winning shot, Cody's kendo team going to the municipal rounds, Yolei and her weird computer shit he didn't understand. It was like everyone he knew was moving forward with their lives, while he was still stuck in the glory of middle school.

He used to think that by trying his best, he'd be able to conquer anything, but he now understood the cold, hard truth. People were limited, and by definition so was he. He could practise soccer all he wanted, but he'd never be as good as Tai or Ken. He could try to charm Kari all he wanted, but he'd never be as effortless as TK.

And so, these two things—the only two things he truly wanted—were the two things he couldn't have.

* * *

His shoulders were slumped, forcefully dragging his already tired feet into the park. He was secretly a little annoyed. He didn't understand why Tai was making him do more soccer training when he was now officially out with very little chance of playing in the next game. He didn't want to go, but Tai had sounded so dangerous on the phone that he didn't want to risk disobeying him. Tai was scary when he got angry. He was lucky never to have been on the opposing side of Tai's fury, and he wanted to keep it that way.

As he approached the soccer pitch, he saw Tai standing in the middle, looking quite stiff. Davis waved with a slight grin, which his idol did not return.

"I said to get here in ten," Tai said without so much as a greeting. "You got here in twelve minutes and," he help up what appeared to be a stopwatch to his face, "19 seconds. For every second you were late, do a push-up. That's what… 139? Go."

Davis stared at him, alarmed. "What?"

"147," Tai continued counting, looking unfazed by Davis' disorientation. "148… 149…"

Davis quickly dropped to the floor and did as he was told, though he was confused. Even when Tai gave him extra help, he never made him do push-ups, and he certainly didn't punish him for being late. Tai was stern but never mean, but his expression and tone made him seem more like the latter.

His arms began to hurt, but not wanting to disappoint Tai, he completed his push-ups without complaint. After he finished, he stood up. "I'm sorry for being late."

Tai set a ball between them, and Davis wondered if he hadn't heard or was simply ignoring him. "We're staying here all night until you can make one decent shot. For every bad shot or stolen ball, it's another five minutes."

He looked at him confusedly. What was he talking about?

"What?"

Tai rolled his eyes, evidently frustrated by Davis' lack of comprehension. He swiftly took the ball with his leg.

"There. That's five minutes."

He shot it perfectly into one of the goals.

"There's another. I can do this all night, Davis. Get the ball and try again."

Realising the situation, Davis quickly jogged to the goal to do as he was told. Though Tai wasn't acting his usual laidback self, he was still helping him, and for that he had to be appreciative.

* * *

He didn't have a watch to check the time, but he must have spent close to an hour with Tai, and he couldn't take it anymore. Tai was a far superior player, and at this rate, he was going to be here all night.

"2-27," Tai updated as he scored another goal.

"You win," Davis tried, gasping for air. "Can I go home now?"

Tai glared at him. "No."

"Please?" he pleaded. "I can't go any longer. I can't even move."

"2-28."

"Please. Why are you doing this?"

"2-29."

"Tai, why are you doing this?" he repeated, merely standing there as Tai continued to score.

Tai suddenly turned to him, his eyes blazing.

"Because you aren't good enough, and at this rate, you never will be. If you aren't going to put in the effort, you might as well quit, because you'll never be a centre-forward again. Akita bullshitted you when he said he was just like you. Even in year 10, he was better than you. He was a substitute, but he still played. Do you want to know how many minutes you'll get in this week's game, Davis? Zero. You won't play a single second because you don't even deserve that."

He was so stunned at the words coming out of Tai's mouth that he wasn't sure how to react. He already knew that everybody on the soccer team thought this, but hearing the same words from Tai was different. He had thought that at the very least, Tai was somebody who truly believed in him.

"I'm not saying this to be mean. I'm saying it because you spend too much time feeling sorry for yourself and not enough time trying to get better. I'm doing you a favour by being your wakeup call. So stop telling me you're tired, and get a decent shot. I gave you that first goal, and you got lucky with the second one. If you can't even get past a forward like me, how the hell did you ever expect to get past Ichioka's defence?" Tai threw the ball at him. "Here, I'll give you possession."

He nodded numbly and shakily set the ball down, though Tai swiped it within a second. As they continued playing, he tried to exert as much effort as he could, but it was no use. He still couldn't keep up with Tai. No matter how hard he tried, Tai played at a different level. He was faster, stronger and overall more skilled. Usually when Tai helped him, he felt like he was at least learning some of his tricks, even if he couldn't duplicate them. This time, with each steal, each outrun, each goal, he only felt his self-assurance dwindling. He knew he should be grateful, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Tai, instead of helping him, was just trying to cream him. No, not trying. He was definitely succeeding.

He was running as fast as he could, but Tai caught up to him easily and swiped the ball from between Davis' legs to his own. Davis almost just wanted Tai to keep it, but he ran after him anyway in what he knew would be a futile attempt.

When he had watched Tai faint that game against Tamachi, he wasn't able to grasp how tired Tai must have been. Right now, he felt like he had to be close. He couldn't feel his legs because his brain was too busy registering the pain splitting from his lungs.

He didn't faint, but his legs finally gave out, and he sat down on the field. "I… I can't do it, Tai." He looked at him pleadingly. "I can't do it."

Tai shot his goal—probably his fiftieth by now—before turning to scowl at him.

"This is why you're back to being a substitute, Davis," Tai said coldly, walking to the goal to pick up the ball before walking back to him. "If you want a regular place on the squad, you have to be better. Today when I told you you'd be a substitute, you could have tried to defend yourself, even if you knew it'd make no difference. You could have stayed behind with me and Akita and trained longer. You could have come here and practised by yourself. Instead, you went home and did nothing. Even now, you're crying to me because I'm taking time out of _my_ life to try to help you. You think this is hard? It's nothing. It's the bare minimum, so if you ever want to be a regular, cut your bitching and try again. Then _maybe_ I'll consider making you a midfielder again." He dropped the ball he had picked up and lightly kicked it so that it rolled in front of Davis. "The way you play is boring me to death, so I'm going home. I'll never find out so you can too, but you owe me at least another few hours. It's your call."

Davis watched as Tai walked away, speechless by his behaviour. He didn't know what had gotten into him. Even when another player messed up, Tai was always encouraging and never condescending. It's what made him such a great captain. Davis felt useless, and he bet it was because he had missed that penalty shot. He felt like he was letting everyone down, and it had even reached his idol Tai. He had grown used to the team thinking he sucked, but it was crushing to learn that Tai felt the same. After the Ichioka loss, several members of the team came up to him to cheer him up and say it hadn't been his fault. Of them, Tai's words were the only ones that had felt genuine, but evidently he had been wrong.

He wanted to get better.

He stood up once again.

Tai was the only member on their squad who had believed in him. He wasn't going to let him down.

* * *

It was once he had come out of the park and onto the street that the terrible realisation of what he had just done struck him.

Akita had made him so angry that he couldn't stand to be around him anymore, so he had called Davis instead. However, rather than helping him, all he had managed to do was give him one blow after another until he was sure his confidence didn't exist anymore. He had compacted all the frustrations in his life, concealed them and shot them directly at Davis. He knew why he had picked him too. It was because unlike Akita, Davis would never talk back to him. Had he tried that with Akita, he'd probably come out with at least a black eye, but he had known Davis would just stand there and take it. And he had.

That made it worse. He knew how much Davis looked up to him, but he beat him down anyway. He knew Davis couldn't play at his level. He was older and more experienced, but he crushed him anyway. He didn't hold anything back. When Davis finally managed to steal a ball from him, he lied and said he had let him have it on purpose. Davis had believed it.

He felt like the worst person alive.

He wasn't quite sure what had caused him to get so annoyed with Akita in the first place, who had been far more annoying in the past, or get so frustrated with Davis, who he knew was trying his best. Something in him told him it went back to his fight with Sora, but he refused to listen.

Sora could go to hell for all he cared. And she could bring Matt with her while she was at it. And the entire Ichioka squad. And his crazy coach. And Akita.

He didn't give a damn about any one of them.

He harshly threw the front door of his flat open.

"Tai, is that you?" His mother popped out from the kitchen. "Just in time! I made your favourite!"

"I'm not hungry," he stated coldly, walking past her straight to the bathroom. All he wanted was to shower and sleep. He wasn't in the mood to eat, and he certainly wasn't in the mood to partake in dinnertime chatter with his family.

When he came out of the bathroom, his family had gone into their respective rooms, but Kari peeked out of hers upon hearing him.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," he muttered, already walking toward his room.

She came out and looked at him worriedly. "You should eat something. I left a plate for you on the table."

He glanced at the dining table and saw that there was indeed a covered plate for him.

"I already said I wasn't hungry," he said simply, walking into his room.

As he closed the door, he immediately regretted his short response with his sister.

The feeling was fleeting, however, as his mum came into his room without knocking.

"What."

"Tai Kamiya, you lose that tone this instant," his mother said sternly. "Anyway, just so you know, I got a call from Kyoto University today. They had agents at your last game, and they're interested in you. They want you to drop by one day for an interview."

What the hell did Kyoto University want with him, especially after seeing his subpar performance in Saturday's game?

Not that he cared. He had no intention of moving out of Tokyo for uni, especially when he had already received an offer from his dream school. He wasn't going to go to Kyoto for a meaningless interview when he already had so much on his mind.

"I'm not interested in Kyoto," Tai mumbled from his bed.

"But I already told them you'd drop by during your summer holiday."

He sat up on his bed. "_What_? Mum, why would you tell them that without talking to me first?"

She looked puzzled. "Because I thought you'd be happy about the opportunity, and it's not like you have massive plans for your summer holiday anyway, so—"

"I hate Kyoto, Mum! How do you not know that about your own son?" He knew he was being dramatic, taking his frustration about something else out on his mother because she would take it. "And I happen to have loads of plans for the holiday, but you just ruined them all!"

His mother frowned. "All right, Tai. Calm down. I'll call them back tomorrow and tell them you aren't interested."

"No, it's too late. Ugh, just go."

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Young man, don't use that tone with me! I am your mother!"

He fell back on his bed and glared at his ceiling.

She sighed. "I'm sorry you had a bad day, honey. Try to eat later."

"Turn off my light," he ordered sourly.

She left without doing so, which aggravated him more, though he probably deserved more than that for the attitude he had just pulled. He got up from his bed to turn off the light himself when he saw a note slip under his door.

Based on the material of the paper, he knew it was from his sister. She had written it on one of her expensive, fancy stationary notecards that she had insisted to her parents that she absolutely needed. He opened the folded paper, revealing her impossibly neat handwriting.

"I hope you had a great day. If not, tomorrow will be better."

He smiled a little at the smiley face she had drawn at the end. Sometimes, he couldn't believe he was related to her. She was too kind to be his sister, and her kindness made him feel even worse. His dad probably wouldn't think too much about his mood and his mum would get over it, but at the very least he felt like he should apologise to his sister. After all, she was always so quick to apologise to him, even when things weren't her fault.

He waited until he knew his parents had fallen asleep to go to Kari's room and knocked quietly on her door.

"Come in."

He opened the door and didn't expect the sight in front of him. Kari was sitting on the floor, newspaper laid out with a poster board on top. In her hand was some glue, which she was using to write on the board.

"Thanks for the note," he started out, looking strangely at the layout she had set up. "I'm sorry for being so rude."

"It's okay, Tai. Everybody has bad days," she said nicely.

With Kari, he knew that was all it took. It took a lifetime for her to get upset with him but only an instant for her to forgive him.

He watched curiously as she held up one of the containers of glitter and sprinkled it on the poster.

"Are you in primary school?" he teased. "What kind of assignment are you doing that requires something as babyish as that?"

She picked up a different colour and sprinkled some more. "It's not an assignment."

"Then what is it?" he asked, peering over her shoulder.

"It's for Davis." She flipped over several photographs beside her to show that they were pictures of him.

At the mention of his name, he immediately felt guilty one again for what he had done to him.

"Hey, how come you're making one for him and not me? I'm your _brother_."

"I noticed that Davis doesn't have any posters around school like you do. I think it'd make him happy if I made one for him, but I can make one for you too if you want."

"I'm only kidding. I don't want one."

Now that he thought about it, he supposed he had never seen any posters for Davis. If Davis were upset by it, seeing a poster made for him by Kari would definitely keep him happy for at least a month. He was easy to please like that.

She picked up the poster and carefully let the loose glitter fall back into another container. He saw that it had his name, his number and a simple "GO!" written in girly cursive. She then took the photos and began to cut and paste them on the empty spaces.

Yes, this would no doubt put Davis on cloud nine for a while.

"Davis has been a little down lately, especially after last week's game," Kari said suddenly, looking a little sad. "He took the loss really hard. He barely talks to any of us anymore… But you know what?" She looked at him proudly. "I think you believing in him makes him want to try harder. He really looks up to you."

He went pale, and he almost felt like Kari was saying this to him in order to make him feel guilty, even though he knew she didn't know what had happened earlier.

"Yeah…" he said hesitantly. She smiled at him, then continued cutting. He watched her for a bit, then asked, "Hey Kar?"

"Yes?"

"Would you ever date Davis?"

He had asked her point blank out of nowhere, so she looked at him strangely, as if waiting for him to say more.

Finally, she shrugged. "I'm not interested in him in that way. He's like my brother."

Brother. Ha, the irony. Exactly how he had thought he had once seen Sora.

"But do you think one day you could change your mind about him?"

She shrugged again. "I can't see him that way."

"But what if you do? How do you know that even after spending so many years thinking of him as a brother, you won't wake up one day and realise that he's all you've ever wanted?"

She raised her eyebrow at him. Between the two of them, relationships were a topic neither of them really discussed with each other. He certainly didn't want his sister to know what he had done with girls, and although Kari had yet to start dating, he was pretty sure he wouldn't want to know about it when she did start.

"Are you asking me this as Davis' friend or as my brother?"

"Neither. I'm just curious."

She shrugged again, then continued on with her task calmly. "I don't know, Tai. I can't see it happening."

"So you'd reject him if he asked you to be his girlfriend?"

"I wouldn't _reject_ him. I'd just tell him that we've known each other for a long time, and that I wouldn't want to risk ruining our friendship by dating."

"That's rejecting him, Kar."

"Then yes, I'd do that," she answered coolly.

"What if you reject him, he falls for someone else and you regret it later?"

"I'd just have to get over it, I guess." She looked at him, appearing puzzled once again. "Why are you asking me this all of the sudden?"

"No reason."

She didn't seem convinced, but once again turned her attention to her craft. As he watched her, he couldn't get over the gloomy feeling brewing inside him. Yes, Davis would probably die of happiness upon seeing this, but it would be an ephemeral joy that would be cut short the moment his sister did something similar for somebody else—namely, for somebody like TK.

He couldn't shake the feeling that she was leading him on, if only unintentionally.

Kind of like what Sora had done to him.

"You know, if you don't even like him, you shouldn't mess with his head by making him that thing. He's clearly going to take it the wrong way, and you're just letting him get his hopes up for no reason."

Kari suddenly stopped what she was doing, then looked at him with a bewildered expression. "It's just a poster, Tai. I'm just trying to be a good friend. It doesn't mean anything, and he knows that."

His voice raised half a notch. "Does he? He's practically in love with you, Kar. You trying to be a good friend is only making it harder for him. Just do him a favour and tell it to him like it is. Don't keep him hanging and shatter the poor kid's heart later. "

Kari's expression grew more flustered, her large eyes widening further. "Tai, what are you talking about? It's not a big deal. I make posters for people all the time. Davis knows that. He's helped me make them before."

He blinked and realised his mind had slipped out of reality and back to Sora once again, this time taking it out on his sister. Dumbfounded, he quickly apologised to her and left for his own room.

He felt stupid.

Sora had let him like her and think she still liked him when she had in actuality lost all feelings for him. He thought it was shitty that she let him take her to dinner, he thought it was shitty that she always pretended to be so worried for him and he thought it was shitty that she was now so obsessed with Matt, somebody she would never have chosen over him just six weeks ago.

Now that her was her boyfriend, it was like her whole world revolved around him. For goodness sake, she needed his permission to _run_ with him.

She needed his _permission_ to run with him.

She needed his permission to run with _him_.

The more he repeated it in his head, the less horrible it sounded. In fact, it didn't sound horrible at all. It sounded normal.

He didn't understand. How did something that had pushed him over the edge into a blind rage just a few hours ago now not seem like anything?

As he got in his bed, he realised it's because it was just that: it wasn't anything.

Sora hadn't been playing with his mind at all. Thinking back to the past few years, he could think of countless examples in which Sora had subtly tried to hint to him that she was interested in him. However, since she started dating Matt, she had remained completely loyal to him.

She wasn't toying with him. Just as Kari was making a poster for Davis to be nice, so was Sora. Davis would choose to take the innocent poster the wrong way, the exact same way he had chosen to take Sora's concern for him. She hadn't let him take her out to dinner because she liked him; she had done it because he had guilted her into doing it. She hadn't pretended to be worried because she wanted to give him attention; she did it because he was her friend, and she really did worry. He had chosen to take them the wrong way, and that's what had sparked their fight. It was true Sora had changed. Getting a boyfriend would inevitably alter certain dynamics of their friendship, the same way it had whenever he had had a girlfriend. Sora had just remained silent during those times, while he had criticised her for every shift in their harmony, however slight.

They had fought because he had been an asshole to her. He had taken one insignificant thing, blew it out of proportion then presented his dissatisfaction by insulting her and insulting Matt, making up lies to justify himself. He had done the same with Akita and his genuine attempt to comfort Davis. Davis and his inability to play at a level three years above his capabilities. His mother and her trying to do him a favour. Kari and her poster.

What the hell was wrong with him? Since when had he become so quick to upset the people around him? Akita and his mother were probably already over it, but what about the others? Sora probably hated him, Davis was probably contemplating quitting the team and Kari was probably sitting in her room second-guessing herself.

It was selfish, but he was most bothered by Sora. He wanted to forget her but couldn't, and by trying so hard to forget her, she always came up in his mind. His only choices were to be get over it and be happy for them or be sad and feel sorry for himself, but the fact of the matter was that either way, he would have to come to accept Sora's relationship. He didn't like either option because he already knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted to be with Sora, and he wanted Sora to be with him. He had never been one to settle for anything less than what he wanted, even if that goal was unattainable.

He knew he was digging himself his own grave, but at the same time, he wasn't so sure he could stop himself.

* * *

Ack, here he finally is: Douchebag Tai! Don't hate him too much! Or do, but remember that this story has yet to reach its halfway point, much less the ending. When I first thought up this story back in 2009, I had used Tai's attitude towards Izzy, Agumon and Tentomon when Kari got sick as a guide. I can't really recall the episode anymore, but I do remember thinking he was the world's biggest arse. Probably had a different word for him considering I was in primary school, but there you go. I actually wasn't even a Tai fan growing up, even though I like him a lot now.

More excessively long notes:

Please excuse the way I write angsty parts. My real personality is very much like Izzy's where I'm rather serious, calm and not very emotional at all (in other words, boring), so I'm quite indifferent about everything aside from politics, dance, the Premier League and Sorato. I think I have a hard time differentiating between teenage angst and dramatic complaining, so I apologise if I made Tai and Davis too whingey as well. I never really went through that stage myself in my teenage years (my lucky mum), so I'm just copying what I read and see in the media.

If the Davis part kind of doesn't fit, it's because I sort of copied and pasted it from an unpublished fic of mine where he served as the main character. I recently watched a couple episodes of 02 just to get an idea of his personality, and it hit me that the way I have written Davis is just completely wrong. Since I can't be bothered to go back and change everything, I'll just be lazy and cliché and say that people change with age.

I was going to use the British grading system, but as my American friend pointed out, the British system is too different and is therefore confusing to her. Since most of my hits come from the United States, I tried to alter it to match the American system, but if it's off, it's because I don't really understand it myself. Please feel free to correct me!

Basically, between teenage angst, skewed characterisation and grading scales, I don't know anything and just carelessly type away at my keyboard. Thank you for putting up with me.


	15. Chapter 15

I decided to finally tweak and post this because I was on a high from the UEFA Champions League final. My darling Chelsea won! (To those who watch the Premier League, my condolences to Tottenham Hotspur fans.)

Anyway, I realised when I was writing this chapter that I made a mistake in the last one, which you probably only noticed if you follow soccer. Since I'm making their game against Ichioka a two-legged fixture, they shouldn't have gone to the penalty shootout in the first leg. Er, sorry about that. Allow me to just change the rules of soccer to fit my story's needs.

The scenes in this chapter are in chronological order, but the beginning of one scene doesn't necessarily follow the end of the previous one. There's a tiny bit of time-rewinding so different perspectives can be seen, but I hope it isn't too confusing!

**Warning:** If you had yet to notice, the language will get progressively worse from here on out. I don't think it's bad enough to justify a rise in rating, but let me know if you think otherwise.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 15**

He had spent the latter half of the week repairing damage he had done to himself. His family was the quickest to forgive him, having been used to his antics after spending eighteen years with him. Akita was next, calling him a tool the day following their spat and simply laughing it off. Sora was the hardest, but eventually she caved in too.

It was different with her though. While everything between his family and Akita had gone back to normal, things had changed between him and Sora. They asked each other how they were every morning and were pleasant to each other, but aside from that, actual conversations were rare. He stopped going to lunch with her once he realised he was only torturing himself, and she hadn't said anything to make it sound like she missed him either. During breaks, she and Matt would talk in the hallway, while he would stay behind to socialise with his other friends in their class. At first it annoyed him that she thought so little of their friendship, but then he supposed he could say the same thing about himself since he hadn't really put forth an effort either.

Davis hadn't even accepted his apology, merely stating Tai had been right and therefore had nothing to apologise for. He hated that Davis felt that way, but he also heard from Kari that Davis had somehow changed overnight, becoming determined in a way very reminiscent of how he used to be.

He sighed as he tied his shoelaces.

This was no time to think about his friends. He had to focus on the matter at hand.

He felt a painful, swift whip sharply hit his arm, earning its creator an aggravated glare.

"_Ow_," he said darkly.

"Get up, Kamiya. Coach wants to give us a pep talk, which means he wants to threaten our meaningless lives again," Akita said good-naturedly, tossing the towel he had used to hit his teammate aside.

He stood up and followed Akita to where the other players had gathered in the locker room, though he wasn't listening to whatever Coach was saying. Something about how they needed to win. Duh.

He used to think losing a game was the end of the world. If he was offered a second chance, he'd let his competitiveness get the best of him and would tear his body apart just to beat them.

The second leg of their match with Ichioka—a shot to redeem themselves—was going to begin in a few minutes, and honestly he couldn't give a damn. He wanted to win, yes, but the necessity he used to feel wasn't there.

Looking at the expressions of his coach and teammates, however, he saw the rest of them were as fired up as always.

Coach finished his pre-game talk, and the team left the locker room to the pitch. The Ichioka team had already lined up to enter the field, but Tai made no effort to hurry to his spot in the front of the line. While they weren't traditional rivals, Odaiba and Ichioka were never shy to express their mutual dislike for the other. He never thought too much about it because they were such an inferior, third-class team, but that had changed last weekend in the first leg. They had played dirty, cheapening the sport he loved so much.

"Sometime today," came an annoyed voice behind him. He turned around and saw Akita grinning massively at him, his expression voiding the feigned irritation in his voice. He nudged Tai slightly before walking around him to his designated spot in line. "Let's kick their asses."

Tai nodded, then made his way to the front of the line beside the Ichioka captain. The poor excuse for a goalkeeper didn't even glance over at him.

Whatever.

He looked out to the field and became surprised at the outcome. The number of Ichioka fans were comparable to the number of Odaiba ones, which was rare for a home game against a team so far away.

"Good luck, Tai."

Davis was squeezing past the entranceway, smiling at him before going to the sidelines with the other non-starters. It was odd to see him in a substitute jumper again.

"_And now we shall commence the second leg of the Round of 16 of the National State School Tournament between Odaiba and Ichioka! Tonight's outcome will determine who will move on to the Quarterfinals_. _Ichioka currently leads with a one-point advantage, but Odaiba has yet to lose a single match this season in their home field. Will this team once again make one of their remarkable comebacks tonight?"_

Right.

He took a deep breath, then stepped forward.

* * *

Sora liked going to Tai's games, not only because they were fun to watch, but also because it meant their old group could be reunited, if only momentarily. With Joe being in uni, Cody being in middle school and Ken attending a different high school, it was rare that the twelve of them could get together like this.

To her left sat Cody, Izzy, Ken, Yolei, Kari, TK and Matt. To her right was Joe. She often forgot how much she missed them until they were finally all together. Cody and Izzy were talking about something she couldn't quite hear due to Yolei asking Ken about his life, not really ever giving him a chance to answer as she shot him with question after question. TK was showing Kari something on his mobile that was making her laugh, while she and Matt were catching up with Joe. The only one missing, unfortunately, was Mimi, though she had called Sora earlier to tell her to tell Tai good-luck. Apparently, he wasn't answering his mobile.

She would have passed along the message if she had seen him, but she hadn't, and she wasn't about to go out of her way just to tell him that either. Tai had been acting different lately, in a way that made her not want to be around him. She had to admit that most of their arguments usually started with her getting angry with him, but lately it had been the opposite—and for the stupidest things. He was being downright unpleasant, and honestly she didn't want to deal with him anymore.

"I still can't believe you two are dating," Joe commented, looking back and forth between Matt and Sora. "Who would have thought it'd be you two?"

She forgot that Joe rarely saw them, so he wasn't used to their relationship yet. She supposed she understood his surprise. For years, he had only seen them as friends.

"Why, are we an awkward couple?" she asked with a light laugh.

"No, I'm just an awkward person," Joe answered with a laugh of his own. "I guess it's just weird to me right now. I'll get over it." He looked over at their other friends and noticed they were all on the opposite side of Matt. "Wait, am I being the senseless friend who's sitting next to the couple that just wanted to be with each other? Matt, do you want to switch seats?"

"Don't be dumb, Joe," Matt said. "Sora and I aren't like that."

TK looked over from his conversation with Kari, grinning. "They're going to be all over each other in a minute, Joe. I'd watch out if I were you."

Joe immediately looked uncomfortable.

"He's kidding," Matt clarified, pushing his brother out of their conversation bubble.

Joe muttered something but was drowned out by the voice of the announcer over the intercom indicating that the game was to begin.

Sora watched as the starting line-ups for both teams entered the field, her sight set on Tai in the front. He was looking around at the stands where the fans were, and she swore he made eye contact with her. She smiled a little and waved to him, but he didn't appear to see her, as he turned back to the field.

* * *

Anxiously, each person on Odaiba's side stood up, watching in anticipation as Tai ran past Ichioka's defenders towards the goal.

Sora squealed impatiently, pulling the fabric of Matt's sleeve furiously as if that would make any difference.

"Comeoncomeoncomeon!" she repeated, tugging.

"_Kamiya once again holds possession, the only thing between him and the goal is the goalkeeper. Can Ichioka's Ogino once again stop Odaiba's Kamiya in his tracks?"_

"Freaking shoot!" somebody behind her yelled.

Tai did, and Sora stood up on her toes to get a better view. _This_ one was going in. She _knew_ it. It just _had_ to—

"_And Ogino catches it easily!"_

She groaned with the rest of the Odaiba fans as Ichioka's goalkeeper blocked Tai's shot, though Odaiba's disappointment was drowned out by Ichioka's fans' wild cheering.

"Darn it," she mumbled as she sat back down, letting go of her death grip on Matt.

Matt smiled to her and casually tried to smooth down his now-wrinkly shirt. While she had been on her toes the entire game, Matt had been watching it calmly. "You're so into this."

"I want us to win…" She sighed, settling deeper into her seat. Ichioka had already scored only a few minutes into the game, and it was apparent that the shock of the early goal was messing with the Odaiba's players' heads. She glanced over to Yolei, who looked far more into Ken than the game.

"He practically aimed his shot straight at the goalkeeper," Ken commented, furrowing his brows slightly.

"Wow, Ken, you know _so_ much about soccer!"

Sora too furrowed her brows, then turned back to the field. Now that she thought about it, Tai was playing a little differently.

"_Kamiya once again gains possession!"_

She stared at the field, not even blinking as Tai ran towards Ichioka's goal post once again.

"He's going to make it! He's going to make it!" she shrieked to Matt, once again clutching his sleeve and pulling him up with her as she stood up. "Matt, you don't understand! He's going to make—"

She watched Tai practically run into Ichioka's defenders, and after a mad rush for the ball, Ichioka managed to come out with it.

"_Ichioka's Fukuda gets the ball and shoots! Oh, but it's blocked by Odaiba's Otokawa!"_

"He should have passed it," Ken commented again.

"You should totally teach him all your moves, Ken!"

He smiled politely at Yolei. "Actually, you guys beat my team fair and square."

Sora watched as Tai run, never really sticking to one spot. He had a habit of doing that sometimes—running around the entire field as if he was needed in every possible spot.

When they used to play on the same team together as children, Tai liked to hog the ball and get the goals by sheer force. His skill made him a good striker, but his selfishness made him not such a great player overall. However, as he got older, he understood the importance of teamwork and liked to keep the other team guessing with more complex plays. Right now, he was playing the way he had when he was ten.

Boos suddenly filled Odaiba's side of the arena, and it took Sora a second to understand why. One by one, fans from Ichioka's side began to hold a sign in the air. Obviously planned in advance, each person had written a single letter on their poster. When all of them were up, a large, clear message was displayed to the Odaiba side: '_KAMIYA SUCKS_.' There was also a large cut-out of Tai's distorted face in the air, morphed to make him look evil and ugly.

Elated jeers spewed through Ichioka's stands, once again drowning out Odaiba's shouts of disapproval.

She could feel the rage burning inside her, though her anger probably paled in comparison to that of the younger Kamiya a few seats away.

"That's so mean," Kari said heatedly. "I can't believe some people."

"Look at it this way, Kari," TK tried nicely. "At least it means they know he's their biggest threat."

"Yeah!" Yolei agreed, turning her attention away from Ken for a moment. "They're scared because Tai's going to beat their butts like he has with every other team he's gone up against!" She then quickly turned back to Ken. "Except for yours, of course. Your team was amazing."

"It's still mean," Kari huffed.

There was a blow of a whistle, and Sora's distracted eyes were placed back onto the field, though she had missed the announcement at what had happened. All she saw was that Tai was on the floor, the referee running towards an Ichioka member with yellow card in hand.

"What happened?"

"That guy deliberately pushed him to the ground," Matt explained.

Sora glanced at Kari's direction, who looked even more frustrated, then turned to the field once again. Tai seemed more angry than hurt, glaring hatefully at the player who offered a hand. He didn't take it, standing up by himself.

"_Kakitani has been given a yellow card, though we wonder if perhaps a red card should have been issued instead."_

"Why are they playing so dirty?" Kari asked crossly as Ichioka's goalkeeper once again blocked Tai's shot, hitting it over the goal line.

"Make a damn goal already!" somebody behind them yelled.

Kari angrily started to turn around, but TK whispered something to her that made her stop midway. She edgily turned her attention back to the game, though she was muttering something under her breath.

"_Kamiya gets the corner kick."_

People in the seats in front of them began to stand up, blocking Sora's line of sight and booing. She quickly stood as well to get a better view since there shouldn't have been any reason for Odaiba's side to boo a corner kick, but then she saw what was happening.

Tai was in the corner getting ready for his kick, and Ichioka's fans were throwing their food and drinks at him. Tai briefly turned around to glare at the seats behind him, but it only made them throw more. Sora knew there was little that could be done. This was soccer, and the match wasn't going to pause. Tai's wild hair had flattened from whatever was being thrown at him, and after a solid kick, he quickly ran away from reach of Ichioka's fans. An Odaiba midfielder caught Tai's ball and immediately shot it back to him.

One thing Tai had always been good at was aiming a moving ball at the goal. His reflexes and response time were excellent, and oftentimes it was because he barely needed any time to stabilise the ball and scan the field for a free shot that he could make the necessary goals. Odaiba capitalised on that skill of his often, such as now, but the more Tai's name became known throughout the league, the more other teams had been able to learn to defend themselves from it.

Indeed, by the time Tai had received the ball, the Ichioka defenders had successfully blocked any room for him to freely score. However, rather than pass the ball to one of his open teammates, Tai tried to pass Ichioka's defenders himself.

That was riskier. Tai could be rather crafty and was often able to trick his way past defenders. In fact, some of his more memorable goals were done by stunning the defence. However, because they were so subjective to the skill of the other team's defence and goalkeeper, he was never as consistent with those. Sora knew Ichioka had one of the best defences in the nation, and within a few seconds, they had intercepted Tai's play and taken the ball from him. She saw him groaning in frustration before he chased after the ball once again.

"What is he doing?" Sora groaned.

"Losing," Matt muttered dryly.

She unintentionally gave him a disapproving look, though she stopped herself from slapping his arm by reflex. They weren't on terms where she could do that just yet. "Sh, don't say that!"

However, as the game continued, Sora's heart began to sink as it became more and more evident that Matt was right. Ichioka was leading only by one, but even if Odaiba were to score two, Ichioka would still win with the aggregate score. They had one point from the first game, and the point they currently held would count for double. In order to even tie, Odaiba would have to score three goals and concede zero for the rest of the game. A feat that would be difficult with ninety minutes was highly improbable with the time they had left.

How much time did they have left anyway? She checked.

Ten minutes.

Highly improbable? Make that borderline impossible.

"Foul," Ken muttered as someone on the Odaiba team tackled Ichioka's main striker.

The referee blew his whistle and signalled a yellow card to the Odaiba player.

"They get a free kick," Ken explained to Yolei. "Fukuda is really incredible at these."

Sora nervously bit down on her nail, firmly grasping Matt's sleeve once again as she watched. Odaiba defenders formed a wall in front of their goal to protect it, while Tai stood to the side and turned to face Odaiba's supporters, almost as if he was looking for someone.

And then it happened.

The Ichioka striker shot the ball straight to Tai's head instead of the goal, and Kari opened her mouth as his head was thrown back by the impact of the ball to the side of his forehead. Sora could only assume she had screamed, but it was drowned out by the cheers of Ichioka fans.

Players from both teams alike immediately went to the referee, Odaiba to demand a foul and Ichioka to defend the play as an accident.

However, before the referee could make any sort of call, Tai charged at the Ichioka player, giving him an aggressive push. He fell to the ground in a dramatic display, but Tai was having none of it, reaching to the ground to grab him before another Ichioka player pulled him back. Sora almost expected him to hit the other player, but the referee was already running towards the scene, red card in hand.

"_I don't believe it! Kamiya purposely attacks Fukuda, receiving his first red card of the season! He's being sent off the field, and Odaiba loses their most valuable player as they already trail 0-1. Can Odaiba catch up to Ichioka as a ten-man team?"_

The spectators went wild. Sora's ears started to hurt from the loud boos emitting from Odaiba's side and the mad cheers from Ichioka's.

"Huh? What? I don't get it! Why didn't that other guy get anything?" Yolei asked loudly, trying to speak through the commotion.

But Sora wasn't listening to Yolei, too preoccupied listening to the other so-called fans in the stands. As she listened, it became apparent that while some of Odaiba's fans were booing the call, many others were booing Tai. Swear words were being thrown left and right, Tai's name attached to them.

Her heart sank once more, and she instinctively turned to Kari, who was sure to have heard the same things. She saw that Kari had stood up and had begun to gather her things.

"Don't listen to them," TK started gingerly, standing up as well. "They don't mean it."

She ignored him. "I need to go down there now!"

"Kari," TK tried again. "I don't think they're going to let you—"

"I don't care!" she snapped, pushing him with a force that made him fall clumsily back onto his seat. "Get out of my way."

With that, Sora watched in awe as she shoved through TK, Matt, her, Joe and all the other spectators to the right of them before storming out of the bleachers. It was the meanest Sora had ever seen her.

"Don't worry about it," Matt assured TK, helping him up.

Joe too had stumbled from Kari's shove, and Sora helped him up.

"I picked the wrong game to come to," Joe muttered. "Maybe I'm their bad luck charm."

"I can't believe that douche did that to Tai!" Yolei exclaimed. "Do you think he did it on purpose?"

"Of course he did it on purpose," Ken said calmly, though he too seemed angry by the play. "Ichioka didn't need that extra goal."

"_And there's another goal for Ichioka. Not even a minute after Kamiya has been sent off, Ichioka's Fukuda scores his second goal of the night, bringing the score to 0-2."_

"No," Sora whispered, watching Odaiba's team struggle not only with the shock that their captain had received a red card, but also with another surprise goal from a team that was statistically below them.

"_Another goal for Ichioka! Kakitani makes his first goal of the night, bringing the score to 0-3!"_

"Noooo," she wailed, shaking Matt's arm.

"_And there's the whistle. Ichioka wins against Odaiba 0-3, two goals made by Fukuda in the 6__th__ and 82__nd__ minutes and Kakitani in stoppage time. Just like that, favourites Odaiba has been kicked off the national tournament after a dramatic red card exit of captain Tai Kamiya in the 81__st__ minute."_

The friends sat in silence, stunned by the upset. Tai and Davis had both been so sure they could beat this team, and Sora couldn't imagine the disappointment the two boys felt—or the rest of the team for that matter. Everybody had been so sure they'd make it to the final this year. No, everybody had been so sure they'd _win_ the final this year.

All that for an ending as inadequate as this.

"Should we…" Sora trailed off as she looked to her boyfriend. "Do you think we should go find Tai?"

"I don't really think Tai wants to see us right now," Matt said honestly. "We should just find Davis."

She agreed and stood up, then realised for the first time that the majority of Odaiba's side had already cleared the stands while the Ichioka fans were still cheering. She grew annoyed. Yes, it was obvious that they were going to lose, but the least these people could do is stay to support the team they had fallen in love with seemingly overnight.

The group left the seating area to where the players would come out, still quiet as they waited for Davis. While Matt's arm was around her, everybody else was avoiding eye contact with each other. Even Yolei had stopped talking.

"Come on guys," Joe finally spoke up. "Let's not be so awkward when Davis comes out. They should be proud they were able to make it this far!"

Sora gave him a slight smile and nodded, though she couldn't disagree more. Odaiba could have been proud if they lost fairly, but there was the enormous, shameful factor of Tai's red card that disgraced them.

She didn't get it. Yes, Tai could get easily frustrated, but it still wasn't like him. She wouldn't have thought she'd ever see the day Tai would lose his temper like that on the field. He loved soccer too much to devalue it with violence.

"Joe's right," Matt agreed. "At the end of the day, it's only a game."

Ken almost shot Matt a dirty look, as if offended by his comment, but he stopped himself at the last second, shooting his glare past Matt to the sign above his head instead. Sora had caught onto it, but she didn't say anything.

"It means more to Tai and Davis than it means to us though," TK added, also glancing in Ken's direction.

"I think so too," Sora said firmly. "Maybe it is just a game, but Tai and Davis are allowed to be sad, Matt."

She felt Matt's hand on her shoulder loosen slightly, but she didn't look up to see his reaction. It was insensitive of him to think so lightly of the situation. It may not have meant anything to him, but it would be the same if he brushed off one of her losses as insignificant.

"I didn't mean it like that," he murmured to her quietly.

She didn't say anything, feeling more offended than she thought she would have.

Before Matt could add anything else, however, the Odaiba team finally emerged from the field. Expressions of disappointment, defeat and anger were on everyone's faces, and she felt intrusive to be in their way as they walked back to the locker rooms.

"Davis!" Yolei cried out, shattering the solemn mood in the air. "Over here!"

Davis, who had been walking with his head down, looked up to see his friends. He seemed to think over whether he should go to them for a moment before he did. Obviously, he was not in the mood to talk to them.

"Hey," Davis muttered, acknowledging them with a dull wave.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like shit. How do you think I'm feeling?"

Yolei looked at him piteously, not even reprimanding him for his attitude. "That was the most unfair thing I've ever seen! I can't believe they played so dirty! They should have given every single person in that entire team a red card, not poor Tai! And while they're at it, they can give one to all their dumb fans, and that dumb referee, and—"

"No," Davis interrupted her angrily. "It doesn't matter if they played dirty. Tai shouldn't have lashed out like that."

"Ugh, whatever," Yolei shot back loudly. "If I were Tai, I wouldn't have been able to wait that long, and I probably would have done something a lot worse!"

"That's because you don't know anything about anything, Yolei," Davis snapped irritably.

"What!" Yolei cried. "Am I the only one who saw what they were doing to him?"

"It isn't an excuse," Ken said quietly. "He let them get to him, and as a player he shouldn't have."

TK nodded. "I have to agree with Davis. They had terrible sportsmanship, but Tai wasn't any better."

Yolei glared back and forth between Davis and TK, purposely avoiding Ken, then started yelling at both of them for being traitors.

Sora stood to the side quietly, a little surprised at the opinions of Davis, TK and Ken. She played an individual sport, where a loss was the fault of nobody else but herself, but she knew that TK and Ken were both athletes of team sports who must have dealt with their own tribulations.

So for as much as Davis worshipped Tai, or as nice as TK was or as fair as Ken could be, she wondered if the three boys secretly blamed Tai too.

* * *

He groaned loudly as he heard the broadcast announcing Odaiba's loss.

Freaking great.

He knew the second he was sent off that they were going to lose, but the confirmation still frustrated him. Now, in a few minutes, his entire team would walk through the locker rooms doors and blame him for everything—

He heard the door swing open, earlier than he expected.

"Kamiya! Where the fuck are you? What the _fuck_ was that?"

Akita stormed inside, red in the face and looking the most emotional he had ever seen him in his life.

"You didn't stay to shake hands," Tai pointed out.

"I don't give two shits about shaking hands!" Akita roared. "What the fuck did you just do?"

He slowly lifted his legs from the ice bath he had been giving them, shrugging his shoulders. "That Fukuda asshole hit me in the face with the ball."

"So you _hit_ him? What the hell is the matter with you?"

"Have you ever been hit in the face with a soccer ball?" Tai retorted furiously. "It hurt, okay?"

Akita rolled his eyes. "Yeah, go cry to your mummy later, but we just fucking lost because of you!"

"Because of me?" Tai shot back. "The defenders were the ones who let them score! Do you know how shitty of a striker Fukuda is?"

"And do you know how shitty of a keeper Ogino is?"

"Yeah, well, it would have been a lot easier to score if you people would have done something instead of just waiting around for me to do all the work! Do you know how hard it is to—"

"Oh, cut the bullshit!" Akita interrupted loudly, throwing an arm in the air. "You're a good player, Kamiya, but you aren't the whole team. Get your head out of your pompous ass and take a look around you. This is a team sport. It's always been. You were a great captain last year, but now you think you're some sort of hotshot pro just because you got a bit of attention from some universities. Wake the fuck up. This isn't Tai Kamiya and Co. Pass the ball! Stay on your side of the field! Just kick the ball into the goal instead of trying to come up with some intricate ballet dance to make yourself look good—"

"Get this straight. I'm not a 'good' player. I'm the _best_ player," Tai snapped, standing up. "And if this team is so damn great, why did you guys concede two more?"

"Because we were down one man!" Akita took a step towards him, pointing a finger accusingly at him. "It was _your_ fault because _you_ had to go and blow your lid! You couldn't hold it in for another twelve minutes? Twelve minutes, Kamiya! After that, you could've hit all the damn people you wanted, but no. You just _had_ to ruin it for the rest of us!"

Tai felt the colour rise to his face, offended that Akita was turning his back on him for one bad game when he had led a hundred great ones.

Akita took a deep breath to calm himself. "Look mate, I don't know what's gotten into you, but leave your drama at home. Don't you understand what you just did? We're out of the tournament. It's our last bloody year, and we're out not because we lost a decent match against a better team, but because our hotheaded captain lost his little temper." He sighed, running a hand over his face. "I'm only saying this because you're turning into some crazy lunatic. You're only a high school student, Kamiya. You don't control the world."

He didn't respond, too caught up in thinking how shitty of a friend Akita was. After knowing each other for eight years, all it took was some stupid, meaningless loss for him to hate him.

Akita sighed again. "Look, I'm sorry I lashed out like that, but you have to understand that you just ruined everything for us. I know it's just a sport, but, ugh, it's our last damn year! None of us in our sixth form are going off to play in uni like you are, so this was it. The last important match of our soccer careers had to come down to something as anticlimactic as this."

"Sorry for ruining your lives then," Tai seethed angrily.

He looked disturbed by Tai's comment and softened. "Hey, it's nothing like that. I know you're stressed, and I don't want you to think that we hate you." Akita placed a hand on his shoulder. "We just…"

He was still talking, but Tai wasn't listening. Akita's touch lit a fuse in him, igniting a spark that torched into a blind, hot rage. All the work he had put in the last week to redeem himself burned down, and suddenly he was angry all over again. It wasn't only the match he just had, with the booing, the swearing, the missed shots, the angry fans, the violent plays and his red card. It was the match before, where he had performed just as poorly. That damn exam he had failed. Davis' frustrating position. Matt and Sora—_God_, Matt and Sora. Fuck them. His legs hurt too much. The locker room was too hot. His uniform was too sticky. Nothing was the way he wanted it to be, and he wanted to punch a hole in the wall, drill it in until his knuckles bled.

"Are you even listening to me? I'm trying to have a heart-to-heart with you, even though I want to kill you a little." Tai focused in on Akita's face, a confused expression in place. "Are you all right?" Akita shook the hand that was on Tai's shoulder, trying to gain a response. "Kamiya, are you all ri—"

"Don't touch me!" Tai retaliated, shoving his arm away. "I swear to God, Akita, I will fucking rip you apart!"

Akita stared at him, looking alarmed. "What the hell is wrong with you? I was trying to be nice!"

"'_Nice'_? Don't tell me you're being nice when you just told me how I ruined your stupid ass life and—"

"Chill the fuck out, Tai!"

He didn't want to chill the fuck out. He wanted to kick Akita's ass, but instead he gave him a warning push.

To his surprise, Akita didn't push him back, simply holding his ground and glaring. "Are you seriously trying to pick a fight with me right now? You're mad!"

"Don't come in here, insulting me like I've done nothing for this team and expect me not to get offended! I'm tired of you criticising everything I do when you're nowhere near as good as me."

Akita smirked belittlingly, a habit he had that drove Tai crazy. "Yeah, well, somebody has to be the one to put you back in your place. I may not play as well as you, but I sure as hell am a lot smarter than you are."

He grabbed Akita's collar, glaring at him, but Akita still wouldn't touch him, only returning Tai's piercing look.

"Yeah? Go on then, Kamiya. I dare you to hit me."

His taunting only made him want to do it more. He knew the trouble he'd get into for doing it on school grounds, but he didn't care. Whatever punishment would follow would be worth wiping that stupid smirk off his teammate's face.

"You probably hit like a girl anyway."

He pulled his arm back, ready to punch, but a firm grip around his forearm cut him short. He turned around to lash out at that person too, only to see it was Coach.

"BREAK! IT! UP! _NOW_!"

Tai let go of Akita's collar, and brought both his arms to his sides. He saw that the rest of the team had returned back to the locker room, but neither he nor Akita had seen, too preoccupied by their fight.

"Kamiya. Office. Now. The rest of you lot, leave. I'll see you Monday."

Coach had one of those voices that demanded attention, but he spoke in a tone so quiet it was dangerous.

He did as he was told and followed Coach to his office, but he noticed on the way that every member of the squad was either glaring at him or avoiding eye contact.

In his office, Coach yelled at him so hard that Tai almost thought he would kill him. He couldn't talk back because of his position, so instead he sat there angrily, thinking about how unfair all of this was. The other player had forced him to do it. He had been harassed the entire game, but nobody showed any pity for that. They hadn't for the first leg either. They didn't know what it felt like to be smothered, or to have sticky drinks thrown down your hair and back, or to have a soccer ball aimed at your face.

No, all they cared about was winning.

He apologised to Coach the way he was supposed to, not really meaning a word of it, then headed back to the locker area.

The rest of the team had already gone, but Davis had stayed behind, sitting on a bench with Kari beside him. They weren't speaking, which was unusual for Davis, who took everybody opportunity to talk to her. Instead, they sat in silence, the bin he had used for his ice bath earlier separating the two.

Davis noticed him first, glancing at him for a fraction of a second before standing up.

"He's here," he said simply to Kari. He turned to leave without saying a word to him, not even waiting for a response from his crush.

Great. Even Davis was angry with him.

"Tai, are you all right?" Kari immediately cried out, looking upset and concerned. "How's your head? Did it hurt?"

"Let's just go home," he muttered, going to his locker to pack up his things.

"But what about your head? It looked like—"

"It's _fine_."

She bit her lip as she watched him, then finally said, "Davis is upset."

"Obviously," Tai quipped irritably. "We just lost a match. Do you think he's going to be happy about it?"

She stopped talking after that. He sighed, realising he had hurt her feelings, and apologised.

"Let's go," he said tiredly, opening the door of the locker rooms for her.

When they walked out, he saw that their friends were waiting for them, with the exception of Davis and Ken. He wasn't in the mood to talk to them, nor did he necessarily want to pretend he was all right just so they wouldn't worry for him.

"Tai!" Yolei spoke up first. "That was so unfair! You definitely didn't deserve the red card, and blah blah blah blah blah!"

He stopped listening but she kept rambling, and he became irrationally annoyed by how annoying she was. Davis always complained about her, but this was the first time he had ever really noticed it.

"I hit a guy. Of course I deserved it. Don't say anything if you don't even know the rules," Tai said coldly. He looked at Kari, who now looked upset that he had insulted her friend. "Let's go home, Kar."

Yolei turned red, looking embarrassed as she backed away.

Sora, on the other hand, stepped up. "Why are you yelling at her, Tai? She's just trying to be encouraging."

"Because she's wrong," Tai snapped back. "Why are you butting in when it's none of your business, Sora?"

Her eyes instantly blazed with fury, but before she could snap back at him, Matt did. "What's your problem? Stop yelling at people for no reason." Matt stepped between him and Sora, then turned to face his girlfriend. "Don't let him get to you, Sora."

She sighed, then nodded at Matt. He grew irrationally angry once more.

What, she wasn't even going to say anything to him? Because _Matt_ told her to?

Sora tried again, softer this time. "We just want you to know that we support you, and we hope you don't think this loss is the end of the world because it isn't, and—"

"What are you talking about? It is the end for me, Sora! In case you didn't just watch the same game I did, we lost! We're off the tournament, and the team hates me."

Coach also mentioned his violent behaviour may jeopardise his scholarships, but he purposely left that part out since he was in front of Kari.

"Tai, you—"

"Just mind your own business, Sor," he interrupted angrily. "It shouldn't be so hard since you've been doing such a good job of that recently anyway."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Do I need to spell it out for you?"

"Are you serious?" Matt spoke up again. "God knows why she's trying to be nice to you, and you're freaking out for no reason. Calm the hell down."

Sora put a hand to Matt's shoulder, shaking her head. "Don't. He's doing it on purpose to make us angry."

"It's working," Matt hissed through grit teeth, though he too retreated with Sora's words.

Rage consumed him as Matt pulled Sora closer to him, farther away from Tai. He wanted to grab her, pull her to him instead. She was _his_ friend first. She liked _him_ first. What the fuck was Matt's problem?

He wanted to finish what he had started with Akita with Matt, but then he realised just how awkward the atmosphere had gotten for the rest of his friends. For the first time, he noticed that Joe was here, even though he knew just how busy he always was with uni work.

Sora glared at him. "Why don't you just go, Tai? None of us really want you around with that kind of attitude anyway, and we aren't going to pretend to feel sorry for you when you're being such a jerk."

"Fine. I don't need your fake pity anyway."

"Fine. Then leave."

"Fine. I will." He turned around to where Kari was standing behind him, wide-eyed and looking almost frightened. "Let's go, Kar."

He turned and walked past her towards the exit, expecting her to follow. A part of him knew he should have apologised to his friends, but his pride kicked that thought aside and told him to keep walking.

* * *

Kari looked at the group ruefully, mouthing a silent apology before running after her brother.

"I hate him," Sora mumbled beside Matt. "I hate him so much."

He affectionately stroked her back, though his eyes were still focused on Tai.

Everyone was in a bad mood. Yolei had gotten yelled at, Sora had a row with Tai in front of everyone and TK was still upset that Kari had pushed him. Joe was muttering something under his breath, while Izzy and Cody hadn't said a word, both looking like they'd rather be anywhere else in the world but here. Davis had angrily refused to wait for Tai when he came out of the locker room and had stormed off, with Ken following to try to cool him down.

He too was irritated by Tai's behaviour towards everyone. Yes, he had just faced a humiliating loss, but it was no reason to lash out at them. It wasn't like any of them had anything to do with it.

Still, he also couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

For the past few months when Sora had brought up how much she worried for Tai, he had always dismissed it, thinking Tai had been fine. She noted changes in his persona, but he had been sceptic, brushing all her observations as paranoia.

Perhaps she had been right all along.

And, if he really thought about it, it wasn't like he couldn't understand where Tai was coming from. It was hypocritical of him to criticise Tai when he too had had his fair share of biting people's heads off for no reason. He knew how important this match was to Tai, and to know that the loss had essentially been his fault must have been tough.

When they had been waiting for Tai and Davis, he was able to tell by the sour expressions and bitter conversations of his teammates that Tai had probably been isolated in that locker room. To think that sense of expulsion had even reached Davis, who saw no wrong in him, showed the extent of how significant this match had meant to them.

He knew from experience what it was like to feel like you were all alone and that everybody hated you—how dejecting and damaging the feeling could be.

However, unlike himself, Tai was an extrovert. He wasn't so sure a person like him could handle it.

He remembered when it had happened to him in the Digital World. While TK, Sora, Joe, Izzy, Mimi and Kari couldn't understand him, Tai had at least tried. Tai didn't question his decision, letting him do as he wished to separate from the group, trusting he would come back. He didn't realise until later how much he had appreciated that.

It was true that Tai annoyed him, and he didn't necessarily agree with the way Tai had just handled himself either. However, despite that, he had always felt he owed Tai for believing in him during that part of his life.

Perhaps now was the opportunity.

* * *

Haha, I think people were starting to get impatient with Matt's character and the apparent lack of friendship between him and Tai. I suppose I took too long to get to this point. Sorry, but there is still a long way to go.

Could anybody tell where I found the inspiration for the soccer match? It was a World Cup qualifying match between Mexico and the United States back in 2009. I was touring the U.S. during that time, and some friends and I went to a pub to watch the game. I was absolutely _floored_ by the terrible sportsmanship of the Mexican squad. Now, I must say I'm rather out of the loop in regards to the American-Mexican rivalry, but evidently there was some controversy with the U.S. captain urinating on a Mexican stadium that made all of Mexico hate him (referenced in Chapter 12, by the way).

Of course I did exaggerate it here, such as how Tai got the red card. The inspiration came when the American captain fell and two Mexican players each grabbed one of his arms and literally yanked him up. He retaliated, but I don't think either side got warnings. I remember thinking the referee was quite bad too. The other thing I took from that game were the drinks being thrown at Tai during the corner kick. That actually happened, but the cups in the real game were full of vomit and urine, and they had to use police reinforcement to shield the American captain from it. As a person who doesn't even like when people cough near me, I'd probably go to prison for what I'd do if somebody threw a cup of their bodily fluids at me.

For the record, I'm not hating on Mexico by any means. It's a beautiful country, but I'm just not a fan of the 2009 national squad and their more extremist fans.

edit: It really bothers me that FFN autocorrects when a question mark and an exclamation point are together.


	16. Chapter 16

Wow, this site has changed drastically since I've last checked. Images for stories? Comments instead of reviews? I think the image manager is a good idea, but alas. Given that I have zero drawing skills, it goes to waste on me.

You guys are far too nice to me! I was almost embarrassed reading your reviews because they're way too flattering, haha. Thank you so, so much! What amused me is that I had played down how mean I had originally made Tai because I felt like he was becoming way too unlikeable, but now people are liking him over the other characters. Oops! Let me crank him up a notch.

Since some of you may not know it, I'm going to briefly explain the Japanese academic year. The beginning of the school term always starts on April 1 and goes until mid-July. Students are then let out for summer holiday, and the next term starts in early September. Winter holidays begin in late December, and classes resume in early January. The end of the academic year is in early March, and the students are giving a spring recess for one month before moving up to the next year. For the sake of convenience, I'm pretending that Tai's soccer season starts from the beginning of the academic school year (April). Therefore, Odaiba got cut rather early in the tournament, right before their summer holiday in the beginning of July. Basically, they made it to the knockout stages and got booted in the first stage.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 16**

The school spirit was gone. It was replaced by the snubbing turning of heads as he walked down the hallway.

The posters were gone. They were replaced by explicit, hateful notes slid into his locker when he wasn't looking.

The envious looks from male students were gone. They were replaced by angry glares.

The longing looks from female students were gone. They were replaced by looks of disgust.

Everything was gone, and all it had taken was one game, one loss, one red card.

It was obvious that everybody was blaming him for Odaiba's humiliating defeat to Ichioka. In less than two short days, he had gone from being the most celebrated boy in school to being the most hated.

"Out of the way," grunted a student as he shoved past him. Tai recognised him, as he had once spent thirty straight minutes praising him after school not even a week ago.

He took a deep breath. He swore to himself that he wouldn't lose his temper no matter what. He'd be the bigger person, because he had already made an ass of himself at the game. Akita was still angry about their altercation. At least, he thought he was. Akita's way of dealing with his anger was passive-aggressively giving Tai the silent treatment, simply acting as if he wasn't there anymore. His other teammates, Davis included, weren't much better. They were distant, speaking to him only when necessary.

Following their boot from the tournament, Coach had made them spend the entirety of the following Sunday and this morning drilling them mercilessly until they cried, even though it had no meaning anymore. They were off the tournament. Tai used to be his star, but he had quickly turned into his bitch. Instead of the special treatment he was used to, he did pointless drills for the smallest mistakes. The one time he had protested, he had merely been reprimanded for arguing back.

After all, he had made them lose.

That was the worst. Random people hating him didn't hurt nearly as much as the team he had been with for three and a half years feeling the same way. They all thought he needed to apologise to them—and perhaps they were right—but it wouldn't have meant anything. He could have been sorry, but he wasn't. They blamed him for a loss that was in part his fault but not in its entirety.

He refused to let anyone believe he had been the sole reason. He refused to scar his name.

He pretended he didn't care as he walked down the hallway. He pretended none of it fazed him, that he didn't notice the countless eyes on him, the hostile lips spitting his name.

No, it didn't matter.

Still, he was a little taken aback at how quickly things had changed. The walk from the entrance of the school to his locker used to feel like a red carpet, but now it was more like a walk of shame. The posters that used to advertise his name had been ripped down unceremoniously. It had to have been done sometime that morning because they certainly had been there on Friday. The walls were now a bare off-white, only a few school announcements taped along what had once been a colourful display of pride.

He turned the corner to get to his locker and saw somebody standing in front of it. He narrowed his eyes, not saying anything as he walked closer to the figure.

He squinted and saw it was the girl from Matt's class who had given him that box of chocolates a few weeks back. She had another one in her hand, and she was trying to tape it to his locker.

"Hey," he called out.

She jumped in surprise and turned to look at him, her eyes widening as if frightened.

"What're you doing?" he asked curiously.

She didn't answer him, dropping the tape and box in her hands before dashing off in the opposite direction. He sighed at her shyness and walked to his locker, picking up the things she had left behind.

It was another box of chocolates.

The first one she had given him meant little more than nothing to him. He had given them to his family members.

This one was different.

This one was nice.

He hadn't realised how much he had taken his fame for granted. And though he had been turned off by her shyness earlier, perhaps it was a little cute, now that he thought about it.

Somewhat moved, he began to open the box, making a mental note to visit her later to thank her.

Suddenly, he felt a shoulder ram into his, and he clumsily dropped the box in his hands onto the floor. He furiously turned to glare at who had done it, seeing a boy he didn't recognise.

"Move, Kamiya."

What the hell? Who was this random person he didn't even know, shoving him in a near-empty hallway and saying his name like he—

He took a breath and told him to calm down again. It wasn't worth it.

He bent down to pick up the box again, the lid slightly ajar. He opened it and saw that the inside wasn't full of chocolates as he anticipated but crumpled up slips of paper. He opened one, curious.

_Tai Kamiya, embarrassment of Odaiba High School._

Seven words clearly spelt out. He opened another.

_Captain of a loser team._

They were hate notes, and judging by the handwriting, they weren't all from the same person.

He couldn't believe it. Some people had actually taken time out of their lives to arrange something like this. Furious, he took the box over his head and lunged it at the wall, effectively layering a part of the hallway with crumpled notes all insulting him. There were more crammed in there than he thought.

"I saw that. Go pick it up."

He turned and saw a prefect reprimanding him.

Bloody prefects.

Grumbling, he did as he was told, seizing the papers and stuffing them back into the box, denting it as he went along.

"Oomph!"

He jutted forward as another person had run into his back.

"Watch it!" he snapped.

"Don't get in the way then," the boy snapped back. He recognised this one too. An underclassman a year younger than him.

He felt like he was going to burst from anger—it had clearly been done on purpose—and where the hell was that damn prefect when you needed him?—but before he could say anything, he heard another voice.

"Go to class, Ishizuka."

The underclassman ran off at the sound of the voice, but Tai felt himself stiffen.

Beside him, somebody knelt to his level and picked up one of the pieces of paper, opening it.

"'_Failure captain'_?" He turned to him, smirking. "Ha, the least they could do is come up with something good if they're going to bend over backwards to try and make you angry. I've said worse things to you when I was eleven."

He felt a mix of anger, remorse and confusion as he looked hatefully at the face of Matt, who continued to pick up the scattered pieces when he heard no answer from him.

Anger because he hated him. Remorse because he was helping him. Confusion because it was so against his character.

Mostly, it was the first one, because of all the people in the world, Matt Ishida was literally the last person he wanted to see.

"People have way too much time on their hands," Matt muttered, reading another one silently before stuffing it in his hand, squeezing it shut so Tai couldn't see.

Tai stared at him, maybe glared.

"You'd think you had committed a federal crime," Matt continued, pretending to be oblivious to his friend's uninviting look.

Matt was trying to be nice, yet it only made him angrier. He didn't say anything, only watching as Matt picked up his rubbish. Matt would mutter comments sometimes, probably to break the uncomfortable silence looming from Tai, but they received no response.

"Look, Matt, no offence, but I'm not really looking for your pity."

"Who said anything about me pitying you?" Matt played off coolly. "I can't believe anybody would take the time to do this. It just goes to show you how sad people are."

"It was that bitch in your class," Tai growled. "The one who gave me chocolates last time. What a piece of shit."

"Nice language," Matt said with a raised eyebrow. "Look on the bright side. At least she had the decency not to use me as a middleman this time."

He had always thought Matt's sense of humour was appalling, but today it was even less funny than usual.

No, in fact, seeing him try so hard to be nice only made him want to punch him. For a second, he seriously considered it, but then Matt stood up, having picked up all the remaining pieces. He offered his hand for Tai, who ignored it and stood up as well.

"Don't worry about those people," Matt said, his expression serious as he threw the box away in the nearest bin. "They'll forget about it soon enough."

"Yeah. Whatever. I'm going to class. Bye."

"Wait up," Matt called out, taking quick steps to catch up with him. "I'll go with you."

Tai scoffed, throwing his head back with a patronising chuckle. "Don't bother. It's too out of the way for you, remember? I wouldn't want you to strain yourself."

Matt narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

Tai rolled his eyes and sneered again.

The sympathetic look on Matt's face was now gone. "I'm only trying to help, and in case you haven't noticed, I seem to be the only one in this school who hasn't turned his back on you."

"Look," he snapped. "I understand you're trying to be a good friend here, but I don't need a pity party, especially from you."

"What do you mean 'especially from me'? What the hell did I do?" Matt asked irritably.

Tai didn't answer and simply walked away.

Everything. Matt Ishida did everything, and he hated him for it.

* * *

Sora all but ignored him as he walked into their first class. He took his seat next to her, but she didn't look up from her book.

"Good morning," he tried.

"Hi."

She couldn't see his expression, but she could already envision it. His face getting tight as he tried to control himself from saying something mean.

"How was your weekend?" he attempted once more.

"Fine."

He sighed. "Are you going to be like this all day?"

She didn't answer him at all this time.

"I'm sorry."

She rolled her eyes and turned to glare at him. "For what?"

She knew she was being bratty, but at the same time this was where they always stood. He would do something to make her angry, then he'd apologise as if that was all that was needed.

Perhaps for a while it had been enough, but she had since moved past that. He was never really sorry. He just didn't want to deal with their fight.

"For yelling at you."

"That's it?"

She could see him grit his teeth, trying to hold back his anger. Tai was never really good at hiding his feelings though. They were always obvious in his facial expressions. "For everything else you're angry about."

"I'm not angry."

"Yeah, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Oh yeah? Then why are you acting like you have a pole up your ass?"

Wrong.

She felt the blood rushing to her head in anger. "You say things like that, yet you wonder why I'm angry?"

He too frowned. "I'm having a bad day. It'd be nice if you could show some sympathy."

"I'm not going to sympathise if you're going to act that way."

She turned back to her book.

"God, you're _such_ a…" He trailed off.

Her head shot up, and she glared.

"Such a what?" she challenged, the colour rising to her face.

He didn't answer.

"Such a _what_, Tai?!" she snapped, her voice rising as well. "If you were going to say what I think you're going to say, I swear I'll never talk to you again!"

"I didn't say anything."

"What were you going to say?"

"_Nothing_. Can you drop it?"

She slammed her book down. "After knowing me for so many years, how could you say something like that about me?"

"I didn't say anything, Sora."

"But you thought it!"

"How do you know what I was going to say?"

"Because it's the only thing you could have said, you jerk!" She slapped his arm.

He rubbed at his arm, glaring at her. "I could have said a lot of things, Sor. Stop putting words into my mouth."

She stabbed him further.

"No wonder everyone hates you."

His expression changed once more, to one of fury. It was almost enough to make her apologise, but she forced herself not to. Instead, she opened her book to an arbitrary page and glared at it.

He had gotten far too testy lately, and a false apology would only make him think he had done nothing wrong. And if she knew Tai Kamiya, in his mind, he hadn't.

* * *

In the past couple months, he had gotten used to feeling like the centre of attention, but it was different today. He grew conscious of everything he did, feeling like all eyes were on him, as if he were on display for committing a crime.

He couldn't concentrate, even though there was only a week left of school before the summer holiday and all the professors were discussing exams—exams he had to pass. The day dragged along slowly, time ticking away without a single drop of information entering his brain. All he could think about was that he was hated.

Plus, Sora was not talking to him, angry still. Sorry to say, but he was glad she was in a bad mood. At least he wasn't the only one.

"That's all for today. Does anybody have a question?"

Finally, class was over. He could get the hell out of this place and go home. Although he hadn't received permission yet to leave, he started to clear the contents of his desk into his schoolbag.

"I have a question. Why did Kamiya make us lose the championship?"

He froze, the colour rising to his face. He sat there, trying to decide whether to ignore him or turn around and beat the living crap out of him.

"A question about _Physics_, Kaku," his professor said shortly.

He couldn't take it. He stood up, grabbed his belongings and stormed out the door. His professor didn't try to stop him, though he did hear him say, "Kaku, please see me after class."

He slammed the door behind him for good measure, his blood boiling from anger. The audacity. The fucking audacity.

"What's the rush, Kamiya? You off to fight someone else?"

He snapped.

He was yelling but didn't really know what he was saying or to whom he was saying it. He shoved him first, but that guy shoved him back, and within seconds the two of them were at each other's throats. He thought he threw a punch but couldn't be sure. All he knew was that he was winning, and he would teach this bastard a lesson for messing with him. He was going to show every single person—

"_BREAK_! _IT_! _UP_!"

Two arms came between them, frail in appearance yet strong enough to pull them apart from each other. The other guy was swearing, and Tai noticed that a small crowd had gathered. He traced the interfering arm to the furious face of Mr Mizumi, his maths professor who had come out of his room after hearing the ruckus.

"My classroom! _Now_!"

He let go of them both, and Tai seriously contemplated going for the guy again before he threw the thought away and walked into Mizumi's classroom. The other student sat in a desk, glaring hatefully at Tai. Tai stood, until Mizumi walked into the classroom and demanded he take a seat as well.

"Tell me what happened. You first." Mizumi looked pointedly at the other student.

Tai tried hard to listen in case the other boy lied, but his anger had reached a point that it consumed him, and none of his senses were working properly.

"Kamiya, is this true?" Mizumi asked him.

"I don't know. I wasn't listening," Tai snapped testily.

Mizumi sighed and looked at his desk. He opened a drawer, took out a pad of paper and began writing in it. "I'm writing both of you up for suspension—"

"What?!" cried the other student.

"—for one day," Mizumi continued as if he hadn't heard. He narrowed his eyes, ripping a sheet off the pad and handing the slip to the other student. "I'm being _extremely_ lenient, so it will be in your best interest to accept your punishment graciously. The next time this happens, I am sure the headmaster won't be as forgiving. You may leave."

The other boy stood up furiously and seized the slip from Mizumi before storming out, slamming the door behind him.

"Kamiya, what has gotten into you?" Mizumi asked, almost disappointedly as he began writing Tai's suspension paper.

Tai stood up and walked to Mizumi's desk to wait for him to finish, though he didn't answer his question.

"I know you're going through a difficult time, but there are better ways to handle things. You don't need to resort to fighting."

Tai remained stoic, holding out a hand for his slip.

Mizumi sighed and ripped the paper off the pad. "I'm being lenient _because_ I know you aren't the person people are making you out to be, but you have to meet them halfway. Reacting the way they want you to react isn't going to solve anything. It's only going to exacerbate the issue." He handed the notice to him.

"Thank you," he answered emptily, before leaving the room to the hallway full of judging eyes.

* * *

"You'll never believe what happened."

Matt raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "Tai got suspended?"

She blinked, surprised. "How did you know?"

He shrugged, looking uninterested as he walked onwards. "It's high school. News travels fast."

"He started a fight in the hallway!" she explained, scowling as she practically stomped beside him. "Can you believe him? How does he get into two fights in a span of three days? He's like a child!"

She looked to Matt for a response, but when she didn't receive one, she continued her vent.

"I mean, I don't know if you've noticed it, but a lot of people aren't happy with him right now. What does he think this will do? It'll only make them hate him more! I don't understand why he never thinks and just jumps into these dumb, thoughtless conclusions! I swear, if he spends tomorrow feeling sorry for himself instead of thinking about what he did, I'm going to yell at him until his ears fall out and—"

"Sora," he interrupted suddenly.

She stopped talking, breathing heavily. "What?"

"You're rambling."

She groaned. "I'm just so disappointed in him, Matt! Everybody'll think he's some sort of thug, which he isn't."

"Sora."

"What?"

Matt furrowed his brows and looked as if he was struggling with what to say next.

"What is it?"

He looked away, still looking unsure. "Don't get offended."

She grew nervous at the uncertainty in his voice. "What? Don't build it up like that. Just tell me."

"I just…" He looked up at the sky, then pulled her to him. It was okay now they were off school grounds. "I think you shouldn't be so hard on him."

She frowned, pulling away from his arm's length. "_Oh_?"

He sighed and placed his rejected hand in his pocket. "I know you aren't happy with him right now, but as his friend, you should support him."

She felt a shot of annoyance. Matt usually agreed with everything she said, and it was the first time he had gone against her.

She wasn't sure she liked it.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, with her purposely walking a couple steps in front of him. Finally, he caught up to her and spoke.

"Are you not talking because you're mad at me?"

She turned to him. "No. I just don't get you. You always stand up for what you believe in, but you're telling me to go against mine. I think fighting is stupid. I'm not going to pretend to support his violent decisions just because he's having a bad day. He's not a little kid anymore."

His calm exterior didn't change. "You don't have to support what he did. Just support him as a person. He already thinks the school hates him. I bet it feels worse to think that his friends hate him too."

She frowned. "Since when are you so understanding about Tai's antics?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "He'd probably say the same thing about us if the roles were reversed. And, you know, I've hit Tai three times before. All three times I started it. Do you judge me?"

"You were young then."

"We aren't that old now either, Sora."

She turned her head again and continued walking.

She couldn't believe him. Matt, the person who was usually first in line to critique Tai, was sticking up for him.

And for what?

For hitting another student?

No way was he getting away with that one.

"Tai's your friend."

"I never said he wasn't."

"He's your _good_ friend."

"What's your point, Matt?"

"You shouldn't judge him like you don't know him."

She glared at him, and she almost expected him to flinch, though he stood his ground.

"He _fought_ a _student_ in the _hallway_," she emphasised. "Why are you defending him?"

"Because nobody else will, and I don't think it was entirely his fault. Think about it. Would Tai just randomly hit some guy for no reason? I bet if it had been the other way around, he would stick up for you."

He watched as his girlfriend's angry expression changed to that of disbelief, then softened to one of understanding.

"You're right," she admitted with a sigh. She smiled, suddenly feeling better, and linked her arm around his. "You're really nice, Matt Ishida."

"I'm not that nice." He slipped his arm out of his pocket, draping it over her shoulders once again. "You should talk to him."

She laughed. "Oh, I get it now. You just don't want to be the one to do it, so you're making me do the dirty work!"

He didn't return her laugh.

"That isn't it. I just wouldn't be able to get through to him. We don't see eye-to-eye. You'd be better, and he'd listen to you before he'd listen to me."

She raised an eyebrow, almost confused by how seriously Matt was taking it, but she quickly suggested, "Well, Tai mentioned last week that he wanted to go on a run. Maybe I can make him do that tomorrow morning before school."

"It'd probably clear his head," Matt agreed. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

She smiled at him again, feeling rather proud of his composure and the fact that he was _her_ boyfriend.

Aside from their friends, reactions to their relationship had been overwhelmingly negative. She had definitely received her share of dirty and jealous looks in the past six weeks, from girls who thought she didn't deserve him. Those looks hadn't made her feel pleased; they only made her feel uncomfortable. Sometimes, they were bad enough to make her think it wasn't worth it.

But it was times like this, when the real him stood out, that she remembered why she had fallen for him in the first place.

They had made it to the entrance of her flat, faster than she thought. She felt guilty as she realised it was because she had ignored Matt for a section of it. They stopped at the entrance, and she draped her arms around his neck. She stood a step above him so their height difference wouldn't be so stark, then leaned in and pecked his lips.

"You're a really great friend, Matt."

"Not that great."

"You are. You just show it differently. You don't need to scream from the rooftops to get your point across." She smiled and leaned in to kiss him again. "I like that about you."

He looked away awkwardly, turning slightly pink.

She smiled at his shyness, lowering her arms. "Thanks for not judging me for being such a horrible person. I'll see you tomorrow."

She turned to walk inside, but Matt reached out and grabbed her before kissing her once more, deeper and more passionate than any other kiss they had done before. It was so new that it was almost awkward, though it wasn't bad either.

"You're not horrible," he murmured to her as he pulled away. "I think you're amazing."

Now it was her turn to look embarrassed, and she quickly tried to think of anything to stop the situation from becoming too cringey. It was all so new to her—and probably him too.

"Do you want to come in and hang out?" she asked, realising she hadn't asked before.

He shook his head, backing up so they weren't so close anymore. "I can't. I have band practice in a few minutes."

Her eyes widened. "Matt, if you had practice, why did you walk me home? It's in the opposite direction of the school!"

"I like walking you home," he said with a shrug. "They'll get over it if I'm a little late."

"Matt!" She pretended to scold him, though inside she thought he was wonderful. "Go to practice!"

He smirked a little. "Fine." He leaned in to peck her once more. "Do you have plans tonight? My dad's working late. Let's get dinner."

She frowned disappointedly. "I can't. I already promised my mum I'd stay home for dinner tonight. How about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's perfect," he agreed. He smiled. "I'll see you then."

She walked into her flat, thinking shortly about how great her boyfriend was before her mind drifted to the less pleasant subject of Tai.

She felt terrible. It was true that Tai had been in the wrong, but she wasn't so innocent herself. After all, it hadn't been her who had stood up for Tai, but Matt. Even though Matt was close with Tai, he wasn't on the same level as her.

She pulled out her mobile, about to call him but stopped herself.

Rather than allow him an opportunity to wiggle his way out of it, she decided to surprise him the following morning instead.

* * *

Always having to go to either school or soccer practice, he couldn't remember the last time he had slept past 8:00 AM. Even during weekends and holiday, he'd sometimes have to wake up at six in the morning just to go to practice.

Despite this, he was still not a morning person.

Tai cursed as he felt around for his mobile going off, refusing to open his eyes.

Hitting his head on his nightstand, he finally found that his phone had fallen to the floor and lazily picked it up, holding it to his ear as he placed his head on his pillow once more.

"Hello?" he mumbled, his voice stifled by his pillow that always seemed to be more comfortable in the mornings.

"Open your front door."

He grunted grumpily. "Who is this?"

"It's Sora."

He was instantly alert, and he sat up. "What?"

"It's Sora. Open your front door."

"I'll be right there," he said hurriedly. She hung up, and he stumbled out of bed, hitting his head on the post in the process.

Disoriented, he grabbed the shirt hanging from his chair and threw it over his head. He scrambled to the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and checking his reflection quickly by his front door to see if he looked somewhat presentable.

He frowned.

He looked like death.

Death with bed hair.

No matter. He opened the door, revealing a radiant Sora looking as if she had been awake for hours.

"You look good," she greeted with a smirk.

He futilely tried to flatten his hair and unwrinkle his shirt. "What time is it?" He then remembered that he was supposed to be angry with her and tried his hardest to look austere, though he was sure he just looked a mixture of tired and just odd. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologise," Sora started defiantly. "Tai, we've been friends too long for us to let stupid things get between us. I'm sorry I acted like a brat. Truce?" She extended her arm.

Sometimes, he wished he didn't accept apologies so quickly.

This was not one of those times.

He grinned, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. "And I'm sorry I almost called you a bitch."

She slapped his hand hard. "I knew that's what you were going to say! Tai, how _dare_ you—

"Truce, remember?"

She frowned. "You get off this time, but if you ever call me that, I swear I'll never talk to you again."

"You always say you'll never talk to me again, but you always come back." He grinned. "You're obsessed with me."

"Well, this time I mean it! That's the worst thing you can say, Tai. Seriously."

"I can think of something worse."

This earned him another hit, this time to the arm.

He nodded lazily, yawning. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"You said you wanted a run, didn't you?"

"You want to go on a run? Right now?" He looked around his flat, still unaware of the time. Only that it looked like it was around dawn.

"To cheer you up," she explained.

His drowsiness left him once more, and he smiled widely. "You came here just to cheer me up?"

"Yes, now go get changed!" She turned him around and pushed him back inside.

"Come in," he said, taking her by the wrist and pulling her in with him. "Just give me a minute to wash up. I'll be right back."

She nodded and situated herself on his couch as he did his morning routine. Whizzing through it while still using an acceptable amount of time so she wouldn't question his hygiene, he could only think about how great Sora was. Really, he couldn't believe he had ever gotten angry with her. She was such a good friend. She was so perfect.

He was usually horrible at waking up, but today he felt energised.

After all, Sora had come to his home for the sole purpose of cheering him up.

"Ready!" he announced as he emerged from his room, washed and clothed.

"Finally," she teased, standing up as well. "Let's go."

They walked outside, and after a minor argument over whether he should or should not lock the door, they were on their way.

"I'm telling you, Tai, it's always better to be safe."

"Yeah, but now my left pocket is heavier than my right pocket," Tai whinged.

She rolled her eyes and stuck her hand in Tai's pocket to retrieve his keys. "Tai Kamiya, you are a complainer."

He laughed and took them back from her.

"Look, the sun's rising!" Sora cried out, pointing to the light in the horizon.

"As it does every morning, Sor," he teased, though he thought her excitement was cute. Usually his reaction to watching the sun rise was very different.

As in "Why the bloody hell am I awake when the sun is rising?" different.

He yawned again.

"Tired?"

He tried to stifle the rest of his yawn, shaking his head. "No, the run will wake me up."

It was true that he hated waking up early in general, but he wasn't about to complain, moved that Sora had woken up even earlier to see him.

* * *

Despite how sleepy he looked and claimed to be, Sora found it difficult to keep up with him.

"Wow, you're a lot faster now," she said, hoping he'd take the hint.

He did, and he slowed down.

"Oh, sorry." He smiled apologetically. "It's all the training I've been doing the past few months. I'm not usually this fast." His smile then turned a little more devilish. "But, you know, footballers _are_ faster than tennis players."

She frowned. "I used to play soccer too!"

"Exactly. You _used_ to. I used to play baseball. Doesn't mean I can make home runs, Sor."

She rolled her eyes but laughed.

She liked that despite their frequent number of rows, they forgave each other pretty quickly.

As they ran, the only noises that kept them company were the sound of each other's breaths and the early-morning songs of birds. Though she personally didn't like talking while working out—and she knew Tai didn't either—she felt she should make conversation anyway.

Recently, she felt like they hadn't talked to each other at all, even before what had happened over the weekend. She dismissed it as a silly thought, since she saw him every day.

"So what are your plans for today?" she asked, slowing down her pace even more so they could talk.

He also slowed down. "I'm going to the library."

She raised her eyebrow.

"I have to study for the Physics exam that I'm going to fail," he explained matter-of-factly. "Besides, I can't have my parents know I've been suspended. They'll kill me, so library it is."

She smirked. "Are you actually going to study?"

"I have to. If I don't pass my exam, I'll get kicked off the team. I mean, not that it really matters since our season is over, but still…"

"You'll do fine," she assured.

"No, I really won't," he muttered negatively.

Their conversation stopped at that, and Tai quickened his pace again. Sora tried to think of other topics to talk about, but strangely she found that she couldn't. She didn't think that'd ever happened between her and Tai before.

"Are you still upset about Saturday's game?"

"Yes," he answered curtly, not even turning to her.

She took the hint but tried again anyway. "I'm sorry you guys lost, Tai, but you should be proud of what you've accomplished so far."

His body stiffened. "I don't really want to talk about it."

She nodded though he couldn't see, then tried to think of something else to talk about. "Oh, I know something that'll cheer you up! It's this really funny joke Matt told me the other day. So, you, Matt, and I all die and go to Heav—"

"I don't really want to talk about Matt either."

She frowned at the dark tone in his voice, stopping in her tracks. "I'm not talking about Matt. I'm talking about a joke that Matt told me. But what's your problem? Why do you always get so annoyed whenever I bring him up?"

He too had stopped and was walking towards her, his eyes ablaze. "Because I'm sick and tired of you always talking about him, and frankly I'm surprised you haven't caught on to the million hints I've dropped." He stopped in front of her. "I understand you're in love with him, but honestly I could care less. So if you could just stop squeezing his name in every sentence, that'd be great."

She felt her blood boil over, though she tried her hardest not to explode at him. She was here to cheer Tai up, and Tai got testy when he was angry. It was fine, she told herself. He was just getting angry for no reason, so she would be the bigger person by not pushing him.

Still, there was a part of her that couldn't help it. It was _because_ of Matt that she was here in the first place, and it infuriated her that Tai thought so lowly of him.

"Fine, let's talk about something else," she said as calmly as she could, starting to jog again.

But they didn't talk. They just ran with awkward tension between them, though Tai eventually stopped at the park to buy two bottles of water from a vendor to hydrate themselves. He handed one to Sora in what she assumed was his attempt to appear apologetic for his behaviour.

"Thanks for the run," he said after he managed to empty the entirety of the bottle in a few short gulps. "I needed it."

"You're welcome," she said pleasantly, though she was still annoyed at how rude he had been earlier.

"Sorry for being an ass," he said after a while.

"It's all right."

"No, I mean, here you are, trying to be nice to me, and I blew up at you again."

She smirked. "Believe me, I'm used to your mood swings."

"I do not have mood swings," he denied with a smirk of his own. "Hey, want to get dinner tonight? On me."

She winced. "I can't. I—"

"Have plans with Matt," Tai finished for her. He rolled his eyes, then tossed his empty bottle at the rubbish bin. "Of course you do."

"Why do you always have to say it like that?" she asked heatedly, applying pressure to her own nearly empty water bottle, crinkling it. "You make it sound like I should be ashamed of spending time with my boyfriend."

He pretended not to hear her, which only made her angrier.

"So what do you want me to do then? Cancel on Matt so I can go with you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Like you'd do it."

"Of course I wouldn't!" she snapped. "I agreed to go with him first! If the situation were in reverse, I would say the same thing to him!"

"Yeah right. You'd drop everything for him, rush to his side before he'd even finish asking."

She turned red. "You don't know what you're talking about, Tai Kamiya. I'm not going because he's my boyfriend. I'm going because he asked first, and it'd be rude of me to suddenly canc—"

"Fine then. What are you doing for your three-month anniversary with him?"

She grew confused. "I don't know. That isn't for a few more weeks, so we haven't talked about it yet."

"Want to do something that night?"

Her frustration grew further, and she stomped her feet. "That isn't fair!"

"How? I'm proving my point."

"Because you purposely picked a night you _know_ I'll have plans!"

Tai always did this, unfairly cornered her into thinking she was a bad person.

"Why are you trying to pick a fight with me?" she demanded.

"I'm not picking a fight with you. I'm just annoyed that every time I want to do something, you say you have plans with Matt."

"It isn't my fault you always ask on days I have plans!"

He let out a sharp laugh. "Sora, you crack me up. Really. You play this innocent card like you're doing nothing wrong, but—

"I didn't do anything wrong! Matt asked me yesterday for dinner tonight, and I said yes! How is that wrong?"

"Because you like spending your time with him over me, and—"

She couldn't take it anymore, and she screamed over him. "Of course I do! He's my freaking boyfriend!"

Tai looked taken aback and offended, and it took him a second to respond. "How the hell does your boyfriend of two and a half months compare to your friend of eleven years?"

He too had risen his voice. They were yelling at each other in the middle of the park, but she didn't care. His selfishness had gone too far.

"Maybe I haven't dated him for that long, but I've been friends with Matt much longer than that!"

He threw his head back and laughed angrily. "That's rich! You were never really all that close to him before, Sora!"

"_Well I'm close to him now_!" she screeched, her frustration raising her pitch. She saw other early runners look their direction, so she lowered her voice a notch. "Just because I've known you the longest doesn't make you my number one priority, Tai. Especially considering that I already know I'm not yours!"

"How do you know?" he challenged. "How do you know you aren't my number one priority?"

"Because there's your stupid number one priority right there!" She jabbed a finger furiously at the direction of the soccer pitch. "That's all you care about, Tai! You keep telling me I choose Matt over you, but take a look at yourself! You let some stupid soccer game overtake your life, and even now, I'm trying to help you back up because of another one! It's the only thing you think about, and you're pushing everyone away!"

"Really?" Tai challenged lividly. "Give me one example."

"Nanami!" she cried out automatically. "You dumped her because you didn't want to cut back on your training time. Who does that?!"

"Oh, like you care! You hated Nanami!"

"I didn't hate her! I hated her with you! But, you know what, you probably didn't deserve her! Nobody deserves a boyfriend who can't even cut back on unnecessary training to spend time with his girlfriend!"

Now it was his turn to turn red, obviously furious but unable to say anything.

"You've really changed, Sora."

"I _haven't_ changed, and if you tell me again that Matt's changing me, I swear I'll—"

"No, you've been changing for years. It just became the worst once you started seeing him."

"And how exactly have I been changing?"

"Everything!" he blurted. "You quit soccer! Your clothes! Your interests! And makeup?! You're nothing like you used to be. You're pretending to be somebody you aren't!"

She rolled her eyes. That was it? They were all such trivial, stupid things for him to hold a grudge over.

She lowered her voice, refusing to yell at him any further. "This isn't me pretending to be somebody I'm not, Tai. This is me grown up."

He too lowered his voice. "Yeah, well, I miss my friend."

"Yeah, well, I miss my friend too," she retorted back. "This guy standing in front of me isn't him."

She saw she struck a nerve, and for a split moment she saw a hurt expression on his boyish face.

And even though she wished it hadn't, that split moment killed her.

"Maybe we just aren't friends anymore then. Maybe we're just pretending to be out of loyalty."

"Maybe you're right." She had agreed only from the heat of the moment, though she knew it wasn't true. But then, just to add insult to injury, she added, "I hope you have the time of your life with your soccer ball, Tai. At the rate you're going, it'll be the only thing you have left."

He glared at her.

"And just so you know, for training so hard, you played the worst game of your life on Saturday. It was embarrassing."

She turned to leave, thinking she had the last word.

"Bitch."

She froze and slowly turned to him, her body shaking from anger.

"What did you just call me?"

"A bitch, Sora. You're a bitch." His voice was ice cold, matching his glare. "You told me you wanted to come here to cheer me up. That's a good joke. You said you wouldn't talk to me ever again if I called you one, didn't you? So don't."

She reached boiling point. She didn't think she had ever been so angry in her entire life, and she felt hot tears well up in her eyes. She dared not to say anything, refusing to let him see her cry. Instead, she turned back around and walked away, trying her hardest to make it look like his words hadn't meant anything to her.

She knew she went overboard by bringing up a subject she knew would make him angry, but she didn't think he'd cross the same line.

She had thought he couldn't get any worse after he told her she was "all up Matt's ass," but calling her a bitch did it.

She disagreed with Matt. Tai may need his friends, but he was the one who was pushing them away. She came here with good intentions, yet he once again found a reason to start a fight.

That was the thing. She and Tai always bickered, but between his laidback attitude and her quickness at accepting apologies, fighting was rare.

Now, it seemed like every time they were together, they fought. And it was always about the same thing, the same person.

She didn't get him, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to anymore.

* * *

Excuse time! I attended an all-girls independent school from Year 1 to Year 8, then an all-girls boarding school until I graduated. (Yes, I am one of those people. Try not to judge me.) Needless to say, my schooling was pretty unconventional compared to most, so I think I'm just writing this according to how I've always imaged state schooling to be, which is just a much more lenient, more dramatic, more fun, co-ed version of boarding school. Everything I know about state education comes from the media once again, so my representation may very well be completely off. Highly probable, considering every depiction I've ever seen of boarding school is also quite exaggerated.

If their fight sounds redundant, that's because, er, I accidentally repeated it. Haha, I'm really sorry. It was originally planned for this chapter, but I unintentionally wrote a very similar one for Chapter 14. I'll just justify it by saying this time, you see it from Sora's perspective. Sorrysorrysorry!

Other things to apologise for: too much dialogue, too few transitions. I'm sure other writers will know what I mean when I get so tired of reading the same scene over and over again that I eventually just give up and say sod it. I feel bad for being so lazy with so many aspects of this story when you're taking time out of your lives to read it.

Is Tai mean enough yet?! I tried to crank up his unlikeable factor, but it's really hard for me to do it because I like him so much more than Sora. I thought I hadn't made it too obvious, but the feedback tells me otherwise. I've always said that I think a guy calling a girl a bitch to their faces and actually meaning it is the most disrespectful thing he could do (aside from hair pulling), so I made Tai say it.

This is the halfway point!


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks so much for your reviews, everyone!

This is one of the earliest chapters I wrote for this story, which is why this update was rather quick. I'm quite pleased to finally have it up since I was beginning to think it was never going to happen.

I think I've said this before, but just to make it clear, this story is a Taiora, not a toss-up between Taiora and Sorato. Because I personally don't like reading stories where the final couple is up in the air, it was never my intention to confuse anyone.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 17**

He slammed the front door as hard as he could behind him. From the sitting room, his little sister jumped in surprise from the noise.

"Is everything all right?" she asked after she shook off the slight shock.

"Yeah," he growled angrily, marching straight towards his room. He grabbed his duffel bag off the floor, flung it on his bed and began shoving his belongings into it.

Kari appeared by his door, looking cautious. "Mum went to the shop to get groceries."

"Awesome."

Kari looked behind her, as if somebody else might be near. "That's a good idea to take your sport bag to the library. She'll be less suspicious that way."

Kari had inevitably found out about his suspension, though she agreed to hide the news from their parents.

"I packed lunch for us," she said when he didn't say anything back.

"I'm not hungry."

"It's for later."

"I won't be hungry then either."

He didn't have to look at her to see the hurt expression on her face. "Well, you should take it with you anyway, just in case…"

"I said I won't be hungry, Kar," he snapped shortly. He sighed, feeling a little bad, then walked over to his door to kick her out. "I have to change."

"Okay…" she accepted, her wounded expression turning even sadder. "If you change your mind, I'll leave it on the counter. You should leave soon though. Mum said she'd be back in an hour."

He closed the door in response, but when he opened it again a few minutes later, Kari was still in the sitting room. No doubt she was waiting for him, as it was past the time she usually left for school. He walked past her to the door, wearing his school uniform in case his mum checked.

He was putting on his loafers when Kari asked again, "Are you okay?"

"For the millionth time, I'm _fine_. Stop asking me."

"Tai, you can tell me if something's wrong."

Both shoes on his feet, he stood up to face the door, still not looking at her. "Nothing's wrong. Stop smothering me, and go to school. You're going to be late."

Davis often told him about how his older sister could annoy him without ever really doing anything. He hated whenever she came home to visit, because he said her physical presence alone was enough to bother him. Tai had always thought Davis was just being a brat, but now he understood how he felt.

"Tai, I just—"

"I'll see you later," he interrupted, opening the front door of his flat. Just as he slammed it behind him, he caught a glimpse of his baby sister's face. It was torn, feelings obviously hurt, almost pitiful as she watched him storm out—

But who the hell did Sora think she was?

Okay, so he called her a bitch, but she had deserved it. He couldn't believe she would kick him while he was down about the soccer match.

She had always told him how much he meant to her, how important of a friend he was, but they were obviously just words. She treated him the same way everybody else did at that school.

Not even 60 hours ago, he was a celebrity.

Now he was nothing.

And Sora—his good friend Sora—had kicked him to the curb.

* * *

He set his soccer ball on the ground.

Studying at the library lasted all of ten minutes. He had opened his Physics textbook and glared at the same page before he decided it would be more productive of him to clear his head outside than to futilely think he was in any sort of state of mind where he could study.

So there he was at the park again. He had stolen some chairs from the chess area and set them up around the field as makeshift defence players. He used a picnic table as a goalkeeper, positioning it so there were very few spots where he could score. He fastened weights to his arms, though those would probably be off within the hour.

He tapped the ball lightly with his foot, looking at the scenery he had created for himself. He knew it would be very temporary, as it wouldn't be long before a park ranger would make him put everything back where he had found them.

He took the ball between his feet and manoeuvred it around the immobile defence, Sora's voice still ringing in his mind.

"_There's your stupid number one priority right there! That's all you care about, Tai!"_

He almost stumbled into one of the plastic chairs, but he quickly found his footing and kicked the ball flawlessly towards the goal. Though the table took a large majority of the net, he had managed to aim it in the small corner of space it didn't touch, and it went in.

He would have been proud of the shot under normal circumstances, but not today. The fact he had been able to make the shot was rather distressing, because one year ago, he probably couldn't have.

He was a more skilled player now; that was for certain. But for what?

All he had left was this sport. No Sora, no friends, not even a bloody team. Just that he could run past some chairs and kick a ball over a picnic table. Big whoop.

"_You let some stupid soccer game overtake your life! It's the only thing you think about, and you're pushing everyone away!"_

At the memory of her words, quite suddenly, they materialised vividly in his mind.

Sora's face as he called her a bitch. Kari's as he slammed the door in her face. Davis' as he destroyed him mercilessly in the soccer pitch. Akita's as he pulled his arm back to punch him. Coach's as he made him leave the field to get water bottles for the other players. Mr Mizumi's as he handed him his suspension slip. His mum's as he yelled at her in a way he knew he wasn't supposed to. He even thought back to Nanami's as he coldly told her he would not give up soccer for anything, including her.

People who had cared for him, who he had thrown aside for something he had thought was bigger than all of them combined: the first step of many for a chance to play soccer professionally.

He fetched the ball from the net.

"_I hope you have the time of your life with your soccer ball, Tai. At the rate you're going, it'll be the only thing you have left."_

Before his coach insisted that he try for a soccer scholarship, life had been more fun. Practices lasted only a couple hours, and afterwards he and his mates would shove greasy pizza down their throats in seconds, ruining whatever workout they had done. A win was just another win, and a loss was just another loss. He didn't have to worry about statistics or streaks or how he measured up to players from different parts of the nation he had never met. His weekends were used to relax, his nights a chance to do stupid things with his friends that he'd later regret-but-not-really.

Before all this, he had just been a normal teenager, free to do what he wanted, when he wanted, how he wanted, where he wanted, and not have to schedule everything around a dream that was, admittedly, too farfetched to achieve.

_"This isn't me pretending to be somebody I'm not, Tai. This is me grown up."_

Everyone had evolved. Sora wasn't a tomboy anymore. Kari was no longer his baby sister. Izzy was able to balance his intellect with his sociability. Joe was finally studying medicine the way he always wanted. Mimi was no longer the spoiled princess he thought she was. Matt—that little bugger—had somehow won Sora over. TK easily acted beyond his years, leaving no evidence that he had once been a crybaby.

He used to think the only one who refused to grow up was Davis, who still talked about middle school and how great it had been, but was he really all that different?

He might have been more successful than Davis in the soccer frontier, but it didn't change the fact that the two were both chasing an impossible goal. A professional footballer. Ha! He might as well wish to be a Hollywood actor or something equally improbable.

Everyone else had grown up. Perhaps it was his time too.

He dropped the ball, yanked the uncomfortable weights off his arm and made his way to his duffel bag on the side of the field. He rummaged for his mobile, heart beating a little from the prospect of what he was going to do. He pressed a number on his speed dial and held the mobile a significant distance from his ear, taking in a breath anxiously.

"_KAMIYA_!" boomed a voice before the first ring had even finished ringing. It was so loud that it might as well have been right by his ear. "You got _suspended_?! For _fighting_?! After you got a _red card_?! _Again for fighting_?! What is _wrong_ with you?! Are you some sort of a bloody barbarian?!"

He exhaled. "Hey Coach."

"Don't think you can miss practice just because you got yourself suspended, Kamiya! You better be here on the dot, or so help me Lord I'll make you do a hundred laps for every second you're late!"

"I'm sorry Coach, but I quit the team."

"_WHAT_?! _HAVE YOU GONE MAD_?! _KAMIYA, YOU_—"

He hung up and quickly powered off his mobile before his coach could call him back.

He stared at the lifeless mobile in his hand, as his brain registered what he had just done. Over a decade of his life gone in a single thirty-second call.

What he found the oddest, however, was that aside from the adrenaline surging through his veins, he strangely felt no emotion.

* * *

It wasn't until he saw the sky dim to a light orange that he realised how long he had been there. After his "conversation" with Coach, he had sat down on one of his defence chairs until the park ranger predictably—and quite angrily—told him to put everything back. He then resorting to sitting on the grass, staring into nothing as his mind drifted. The only break he had taken was to grab a dodgy döner from a street vendor, when he had momentarily regretted not taking the lunch Kari had made for him.

He was frankly a little surprised that his coach hadn't hunted him down personally to murder him by now. He seriously considered that he would. He smirked a little as he thought of Coach's ruddy face turning a bright red in fury. No doubt he would take his anger out on the rest of the team after school.

_Good_, he thought.

He felt strangely at peace, as his anger had subsided a while ago. Sora was angry at him? Who cared. Kari too? Whatever. His Coach? His team? Too bad. His school? Bother.

Let them do as they pleased. If they were angry, they were angry. He was just going to sit there and take in the beautiful scenery until everything was better.

His plan was faltered, however, as he got pins and needles in his leg for sitting on it for so long. When he stood up to shake it off, he noticed a person walking by the park, very obviously looking at him.

His expression contorting from one of peace to hatred as he made eye contact with Matt Ishida.

He was clearly passing by to see if Tai was there, as Matt had no reason to stroll through a park he never visited.

Didn't he have a dinner date to go to? What the hell was he doing here?

Matt looked away when he realised Tai recognised his presence and walked off without saying a word.

Tai hadn't wanted to see Matt, and he most certainly didn't want to talk to him.

But seeing him just leave without acknowledging that they had seen each other suddenly filled him with rage all over again. All the hours he had spent faux-meditating flew out the window.

His eyes fell on the soccer ball he had been sitting with, and he angrily kicked it towards the stands with an animalistic roar. It smashed against the metal and bounced back to him, and he immediately shot it back. This went on for a while until the same park ranger from the morning warned him that he was being too loud.

"Yes sir," he hissed through grit teeth, glaring at the ranger as he walked off.

He set the ball in front of the goal instead. In his mind, he imagined the ball being Matt's decapitated head.

He was going to kick it so hard the ball would burst.

He kicked, and while the ball didn't burst open, it did miss the net, ricocheting off the post and rolling out of the field.

He cursed loudly, not caring that he was in public, that there could be families and little children around or that the ranger may come back and kick him out of the park for causing so many disturbances.

But he didn't hear the impatient sound of the ranger's voice. Instead, he heard a more familiar one.

"Tai…"

He instantly recognised it as Davis', and though he was surprised, Tai pretended not to hear him. He seized the ball that had rolled away, walked back to his original position and kicked again.

This time, it did not miss.

"Tai," Davis tried again.

He ignored him a second time and walked to retrieve the ball. He once again got back to his original position, eleven metres away.

"Tai, please. Can we talk?"

"No," Tai responded finally, still not bothering to look at him.

Davis didn't seem to know what to say to a rejection like that. His curiosity getting the best of him, Tai finally looked at his direction. He looked very much confused and hurt, and he knew why. Tai took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"What is it?" he asked finally.

"…You quit the team."

"Yeah, I did. Is that it?" He looked at Davis, waiting for an answer that never came. He repeated himself, his tone dangerous. "_Is that it_?"

Davis still looked unsure of what to say, opening his mouth and closing it though no words came out.

"You can go then. I'm busy."

He didn't leave.

Instead, Davis walked into the field, carefully watching Tai as if he were prey entering his predator's territory. He situated himself right by the goal so that he was facing Tai but still quite some distance away.

"Let me guess, Davis," Tai said, glaring at him. "Either Coach or Kari told you to come find me, so you've come to get on their good sides."

"Coach told us you quit the team during practice, and Kari told me you'd gotten suspended," Davis admitted.

Tai laughed bitterly. "Well, if it's that important to you, I'll tell Kari how great you are later tonight, and tomorrow after Coach kills me, I'll tell him to give you my position and my number. Now, go home, Davis. I don't have time for you."

Davis' expression didn't change the way Tai thought it would. Rather than look hurt or nervous, Tai could tell he was trying to look like the leader he once was: confident and authoritative. He was failing, but he was definitely trying.

"This isn't about them. I came here because I wanted to," Davis said, his voice cracking a little, probably from the nerves. "Look, Tai, you're right if you think we're all upset with you. Of course we are. We lost and we lost embarrassingly, but—"

Tai felt another strike of anger run through his veins, and hatred shot through his eyes at his junior.

"You missed in the first leg."

Davis' tanned face whitened, driving Tai to stab him further.

"Ichioka may have one of the best defences in the region, but their goalkeeper is a joke, and you missed anyway. You were the _only one_ who missed. We could have won that game—_easily_—and then we wouldn't have had such a shitty disadvantage to begin with."

Tai knew he was being mean. He remembered he had tried his best to make sure nobody would blame Davis for the loss, but he didn't care anymore. If he was being blamed for the second leg, then Davis clearly deserved the blame for the first.

Davis took a deep breath. "I know."

He crossed his arms. "I guess that was my fault too though. I practically begged Coach to let you have a start-up position this season. You know, it's funny. I was the only one on the whole team who thought you were ready, but obviously I was wrong because you only ended up dragging us down and humiliating us. I'm just full of mistakes, aren't I?"

He finally kicked the ball in front of him. It went in the goal, but he didn't immediately go to pick it up.

Looking at the ball to avoid eye contact with his teammate, he angrily added, "You're a fucking joke, Davis, so don't come here telling me I'm a worse player than you. I play better than you with my eyes closed and a broken leg. I made us lose a game? You jeopardised the entire makeup of the team. We would have been champions if it hadn't been for you."

Still not wanting to see Davis' reaction, afraid it would make him take his words back, he went to pick up the ball instead.

"I already know I'm not as good as you or some of the other guys on the team. I'm not here to talk about that though." Tai finally looked up to see that Davis was looking directly at him, and he had to admit this was the most imposing he had ever acted in front of him. "What I'm trying to say is… I'll admit that I'm not exactly thrilled with what happened with Ichioka, but you're more important than a match, Tai."

"Is that why you're here to try and convince me to rejoin the team?" Tai sneered, getting to the point. "The answer is no."

"You've been acting weird for a while now," Davis continued, ignoring Tai's answer to a question he had not yet asked. "You were like this before the Ichioka games. Are you okay? Kari told me there isn't anything going on at home, but… we're really worried about you. All of us on the team. I know you've had a lot of pressure thrown at you this season and that it's been a difficult few days, but it's just a game, Tai. You lost _one_ game. Everyone loses. Like you said, I made us lose the first leg. You lose, and you move on. There may be people laughing at you now, but you can laugh at them next year when you're winning against the best universities in Japan."

Tai didn't respond, just kicking the ball again. Davis watched as it went into the net, and he swooped down to pick it up before rolling it back to Tai.

"I'll be your goalkeeper," he suggested, understanding that his idol would not talk about it further.

Tai didn't say anything again but waited for Davis to position himself. He kicked, Davis went right as the ball went left and it scored.

"Nice shot." Davis smiled sheepishly, rolling the ball back to him. "What do you reckon? Are you a good striker, or am I a lousy keepe—oomph!"

Tai had kicked the ball again, and Davis unsuccessfully tried to block it. He grunted as his body slammed against the dirt before standing up to retrieve the ball to give back to Tai.

He took the not-so-subtle hint, and for several minutes, the two boys played in silence.

"Fuck!" Tai yelled when Davis finally managed to clumsily block one of his shots with his hand.

"Tai," Davis pleaded. He held onto the ball instead of throwing it back to him, taking Tai's sudden outburst as a chance to reason with him once more. "I understand why you don't want to talk to me, but couldn't you at least tell Kari what's wrong? She's so worried about you, and I can't stand looking at her like this. She cares about you so much. You're her _brother_. I know this is killing you, but it's killing her too to see you like this. Tai, please. If you can't do it for us, do it for her."

"You want me to tell you?" Tai snapped, the secret wall he had put up crumbling in the face of his anger. "I blew it, Davis. That's why I'm turning into a moody little bitch like Matt. I'm a dumb shit, so is he and I fucking blew it."

Davis looked confused. "It's just a game, Tai. When you're playing professional soccer, you won't even remember this game. It doesn't mean anything. It's just high school."

"That's not what I'm talking about!"

"Are you angry with Matt?" Davis guessed again, looking even more confused. "You're angry because Matt did something wrong?"

Tai kicked the ground as hard as he could, effectively lifting a plot of grass and dirt and sending it through the air.

"Matt's dating Sora," he explained irritably. "What does she see in him, Davis? He's not so great."

"What? You're angry because he's dating Sora?" While Davis did not seem to get it at first, his eyes then widened as realisation struck. "_Sora_?! You're angry because you like _Sora_?!"

"Sora practically threw herself at me, and I was so obsessed with soccer that I ended up losing her." Tai clenched his fists angrily. "I blew it, and now she's with him. The only thing I have left is this stupid ass sport I don't even like playing anymore."

Davis was still holding his ball, so he once again settled for kicking the ground.

"You… like Sora…"

"Give me the ball, Davis," Tai demanded, stretching out an arm. "Right now, I'm going to pretend that ball is Matt's head, and I'm going to kick the living shit out of it."

Davis didn't give it to him, clutching it tighter. "Tai, I thought—"

"You thought wrong!" he interrupted. "Davis, _give me the ball_. Don't mess with me right now."

Davis didn't yield. "Tai, please. You have to calm d—"

"_I am calm_!" Tai seethed, walking over to snatch the ball himself. He hit it out of Davis' grip with one hand and pulled him up by his collar with the other. He lowered his voice to a dangerous tone. "Davis, I'm so serious. Leave me alone, or I will kill you."

By the alarmed look on Davis' face, Tai knew that Davis had fallen for his bluff. He wasn't going to touch Davis, but he didn't want him around either. He had made quite a reputation for himself that he was some sort of rash, violent being. He supposed it didn't matter if Davis was added to the list of people who thought that.

"Davis? Tai?"

Both boys turned their heads to see a blond boy, holding a medium-sized carton and looking rather confused. Tai loosened his grip on Davis, letting his arms fall to his side.

"Oh, hey TK…" Davis greeted awkwardly.

Tai felt his anger get redirected to the boy. Not because he had done anything wrong, but because he shared the same blood as the person he hated most. TK was, despite their dissimilarities, the closest thing to Matt, and therefore Tai concluded that he didn't like him.

"What are you guys doing here?" TK asked as he walked towards them, his eyes fixated on Tai's hand.

"This is a _soccer_ pitch," Davis responded irritably. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Erm, I just wanted to stop by and see if you were here, Tai," TK answered, his eyes finally shifting away from Tai's side. "Kari looked pretty upset today."

"Oh yeah? Well, _Kari_ asked _me_ to come here, so why don't _you_ just go?"

"Are you guys fighting?" TK asked, ignoring Davis. His question had been directed to Tai.

"No, we're fine," Tai answered, letting his irrational anger subside. "How have you been, TK?"

Even though TK was Matt's brother, he had known the boy since he was eight and often thought of him as his own. It felt wrong to direct his aggression at him.

TK didn't press further. "I'm all right. What about you? Kari told me you were suspended."

"Yeah," Tai confirmed, shrugging. "It's just one day."

TK shook his head. "I can't believe so many people are getting so worked up over this whole thing. It's so stupid."

Davis scowled, most likely jealous that Tai had greeted TK so pleasantly in comparison to how he had greeted him.

"I…" TK drifted, as if rethinking his words. "I hope you know that not everybody thinks so badly of you."

Tai drew a breath, held it and released. Another pity party from a kid three years his junior.

"Yeah, I know, TK."

"We're really busy," Davis barked.

"I see," TK said with a nod.

Tai couldn't tell from his expression whether he was annoyed or simply didn't care about Davis' rudeness. The calm coolness of his tone and expression reminded him of his brother.

He expected the boy to turn and walk away, but instead he came closer.

"Tai." TK held out the card box he had been holding, ignoring the glare shooting from Davis' direction. "I was wondering if you could give this to Kari for me."

He took the box, curiously examining at the package. The label was written in Chinese he couldn't read. "What is it?"

"They're traditional herbal drinks," TK explained, putting his empty hands in his pockets. "My mum got it for me when she went to China for work, but I don't take them. They're supposed to help maintain health and boost energy. Kari's been looking a little down lately. I think she could use it more than I could."

Whatever remained of his momentary hatred for TK disappeared. He was a good kid. He always had been. And even though he wasn't necessarily counting down the days, it wouldn't be so bad if Kari found a guy as nice as him.

He glanced over at Davis, who hadn't said a word. He too had changed. He no longer looked scared or desperate. Rather, he just looked angry and disturbed, his eyes flashing with hatred at the blond who did not look back at him.

He turned back to TK. "Yeah, I'll give it to her. Thanks."

"All right then. I'll see you two around." TK waved to them. "You guys should go home soon. It's supposed to start raining."

When TK had gone, Davis turned his heel back towards the field, grumbling under his breath that the two of them had ignored him the entire time.

On the other hand, after their encounter with TK, Tai felt that his anger had subsided a bit. At the least, he no longer wanted to lash out on Davis anymore. In his slightly more sane state of mind, he instead felt embarrassed that he had just told Davis everything about Sora, though it appeared Davis had better things to think about than his one-sided crush.

"TK said it's going to rain. Let's go home."

Davis grunted again at the mention of TK's name, but he didn't say anything else as he waited for Tai to gather his things.

Slinging his duffel bag over his shoulder, he glanced again at Davis' direction.

"You angry?" he asked as they began walking.

"Why would you say that?" Davis managed to say through clenched teeth.

He didn't respond, deciding to leave Davis be.

It was a little funny if he thought about it. The entire time he had threatened him, Davis had shown patience, but a harmless gesture by TK had changed him completely.

It wasn't TK's fault, Tai reasoned. TK did things Kari liked—things Davis didn't think about until it was too late. Davis could just as easily gone out and bought something to make Kari feel better. An energy drink or her favourite snack would do.

The thing was that TK always thought of ideas first. Kari would say it's cold; TK would give her his jacket. Kari would mention having to study all night; TK would get her coffee.

As for Davis? Davis would just complain to him later, beating himself up for not acting sooner as Tai rolled his eyes at his dramatics.

He didn't question the amicable boundaries of Kari's friendship with TK, but his sister was fifteen. He had begun dating before that age, and he knew it wouldn't be long before Kari would start too. There was no guarantee that her first boyfriend would be either Davis or TK, but if she were to choose one, Tai had his money on the latter.

Between the two of them, Davis couldn't compare.

He looked at the card box in his hands and chuckled.

Medicinal drinks directly brought over from China? One point for Team TK.

"What's so funny?" Davis asked, still looking annoyed though he seemed to brighten at the sound of Tai's laughter.

"I was just thinking about this." He held up the carton. "His mum buys this for him, and he gives it to my sister. It's funny."

"He's such a prick," Davis grumbled beneath his breath.

"What?" Tai asked, though he had heard.

"Nothing," Davis said with a tight, fake smile. "I said Kari's sure to love it."

With that, he turned away from Tai, glaring directly in front of him. His body was tense, as if the slightest nudge would send him over the edge.

People always said Davis looked like him. He never was able to really see it, but in that moment he could. It went past the lewd glare and physical attributes, extending down to the core of their situations.

Tai had viewed Davis' infatuation with his sister as a little pathetic and his self-proclaimed rivalry as unnecessarily stupid. Tai pretended to sympathise whenever Davis complained, but secretly he thought Davis had a lot of growing up to do.

But was it really all that different from him and how he felt about Sora? About Matt?

TK wasn't a bad person, and as much as he wanted not to believe it, neither was Matt. Fundamentally and morally they were fine, but they were the two people who could make their blood boil over for everything and nothing at all. Neither of them could help it that that one person could make them go so mad, stir their conscious into a state of complete mental instability.

Anybody looking in could consider Tai and Davis the "bad guys." Tai liked his friend's girlfriend. Davis hated TK only for being better than him.

Yet there were two sides to every story.

Davis was genuinely crazy for his sister in the way he too wanted Sora. It was so easy to get lost when the one person you want becomes so unattainable.

That's what being human meant. They were so hopelessly flawed.

Suddenly, Davis seemed a lot less pathetic.

"Hey Davis."

"Yeah?"

Tai smirked as he looked over to his junior, who was trying so hard not to look as irate as he felt. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I've always thought TK was a much better match for my sister than you."

He knew he had struck a nerve—and a rather large one at that. While Davis attempted to conceal it, he was failing miserably. His ears turned red and his clenched knuckles white, and Tai could almost hear his heart thumping in resentment out of his chest.

"I've just changed my mind," Tai continued when Davis didn't say anything, tossing the package TK had given him in a passing rubbish bin. "Go kick his ass. Team Davis all the way."

It took a second of looking in confusion at the rubbish bin containing his rival's gift before the look of sheer rage on Davis' face vanished, replaced by an understanding grin. "You know it, Tai."

* * *

He was greeted by the horrified expressions of his family as he stepped into his flat.

Izzy was present too, he noticed a second later.

"I'm home," Tai said nonchalantly, hoping that by acting like nothing was off, his family would magically not nag at him.

No such luck.

"Tai Kamiya, where were you?!" his mother demanded first, arms crossed. "Why weren't you answering your mobile?!"

"Aren't you supposed to be at soccer practice?" his dad added darkly.

"We've been looking all over for you!" Kari exclaimed. "I even called Izzy because—"

"Kari," he interrupted her, looking her straight in the eye. "Are you dating anyone?"

Kari blinked, taken aback by the sudden question. "What?"

"Let me specify. Are you dating TK?"

She blushed, though Tai identified the pink colour as a sign of embarrassment, not shyness. "What? No, please, Tai! Not you too! We're just friends!"

Tai nodded, satisfied, and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "That's what I like to hear. I refuse to ever give you permission to date anyone like him."

His mum looked puzzled, momentarily distracted by the change in topic. "What's wrong with him? I've always thought he was such a sweet boy."

"He's not," Tai answered simply.

"What's wrong?" Kari asked, looking upset. "What did TK do?"

Izzy too looked at him in confusion.

"He didn't do anything. I just don't think you two are very compatible, and no sister of mine is going to date anyone like him."

Kari looked puzzled but reverted back to the matter at hand. "Tai, why aren't you at soccer practice? Davis told me you didn't go."

"I quit."

The response was surprisingly silent, as three pairs of eyes merely gawked at him.

"I quit soccer," Tai repeated.

"Have you gone mad?!" his dad cracked.

"It was just a hobby," Tai muttered. "It's not like I was trying to become the next Kagawa, and I don't even like it that much anyway."

"But your whole scholarship depends on you playing soccer," Izzy noted, speaking for the first time. "What are you going to do about that?"

"I'll just apply to uni like everyone else," Tai answered curtly.

His mum charged to him, taking him by his shoulders. "Young man, you take your bum right back to that school and tell your coach that there's been a misunderstanding. Do you understand me?"

He nudged her off with minimal effort. "No."

"Tai Kamiya, I am your mother! You will do as I say!"

"I don't want to, _Mother_, and nothing you say is really going to change my mind. If you'll excuse me."

He avoided eye contact with his father as he walked past his speechless family into the kitchen. His mother he could handle, but his father could get scary when angered.

He took a loaf of bread from the counter, then sped to his room. Surprisingly, neither of his parents stopped him.

Instead, he was met with his cat sleeping on his pillow. She did this often, as he usually didn't care despite his mother's insistence that she was indirectly infesting his face with germs.

Today, however, it infuriated him, and he grabbed one end of the pillow and yanked hard, effectively throwing Miko onto the floor. She looked bewildered, then angry. Used to her crankiness, he merely pushed her out the door with his foot. He heard his sister whimper for the animal but ignored it, snapping, "Get the fuck out of my room!"

He slammed the door to his room shut, though it was opened again a moment later.

"Your parents heard that," Izzy informed him, pointing out the obvious.

"Good. They'll know never to let that stupid ass cat in my room again."

Izzy leered over him with a disappointed face.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"Eating white bread," Tai answered matter-of-factly, taking a large bite of the loaf. "And after this, I'm going out to buy something deep-fried, and after that I'm going to eat an entire cake by myself."

Izzy frowned. "You know that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about how you're about to ruin your life."

It was his turn to frown. "I really don't know what you mean."

"You don't? Let me refresh your memory then. You just got suspended for fighting, then you decided to quit the soccer team. Considering you need to _be_ on a team in order to _qualify_ for your scholarship, you're giving up a chance of a lifetime to go to the _University of freaking Tokyo_ because you're having a bad week. Do you remember now?"

Tai glared at Izzy in response, annoyed by his uncharacteristically smartass attitude.

Izzy retreated slightly, crossing his arms. "Tai, please tell me this doesn't have something to do with Sora."

"What?" he snapped irritably. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"Do you think I'm stupid? I was there when you fought with her on Saturday. I saw your face. It's not that difficult to put two and two together."

He took another large bite of the bread, taking his time to chew in order to stall. "First of all, this is none of your business, and I really don't know what you're doing here. Second, don't act like you know me. I quit because I realised no matter how hard I try, I'll never become a professional. I decided it'd be better to quit now than to chase some grandiose dream that isn't even worth chasing."

Izzy's jaw had dropped at his words.

"Are you serious? Am I even talking to Tai Kamiya right now?"

He didn't respond.

"You're making a huge mistake!" Izzy blurted. "You're giving up the opportunity to go to the University of Tokyo—for free! To do what you love! You're going to regret this for the rest of your life! Are you really going to let a girl take over your entire life, even if that girl is Sora?"

"This has nothing to do with Sora," Tai snapped.

"Yeah, right. That's really convincing, considering you blatantly admitted to me the other day that everything that's been happening has been because of her."

Tai glared hatefully at Izzy.

"Fine then. It's because of Sora, but I don't need or want you to try to convince me to do otherwise. I'm a grown ass man, Izzy."

"You're a teenager."

"Older than you," Tai said warningly, standing up.

"What's wrong with you?" Izzy asked loudly—louder than he had ever talked to him before. And while he lowered his voice upon Tai's unappreciative glare to the door to indicate that his parents could hear them, his tone remained the same. "Tai, you can lead in saving two worlds multiple times, but you can't handle the stress of one girl and one match? Does that even make sense to you?"

"I was eleven."

"I don't care how old you were! You still did it! Tai, you've been under bigger stresses before—ones that actually mattered. You can't let something as meaningless as this one consume you!"

"Izzy," he hissed, slamming a fist down on his desk. "You wouldn't understand because you lack any sort of emotional capacity, so stop standing there giving me useless advice that I never asked for and am never going to listen to. I hate soccer, and I'm going to quit. So I'd appreciate it if you and Davis and everybody else would just leave me the hell alone, and let me live my own life. I'm tired of everyone bashing me!"

Izzy didn't have a response immediately, so Tai sat back down and gnawed another piece of bread. He felt Izzy's eyes tearing through him, but he pretended not to notice, focusing his thoughts on his tasteless snack.

"You're really good at feeling sorry for yourself, you know that?" Izzy said finally, his voice barely loud enough for Tai to hear.

Tai stopped mid-chew and glared at him menacingly. "Say that again, Izzy. I dare you."

"Sora really liked you. It was obvious to everyone. It isn't Sora's fault you were too dense to pick up on it."

"_Excuse_ me?"

"It wasn't Matt's fault either. If you were really either one of their friends, you'd know that he makes her happy."

"Izzy, I swear I—"

"That game you lost. You probably wouldn't have if you hadn't tried so hard to make yourself look good."

He stood up, knocking his chair to the floor.

"And you wouldn't have gotten the red card and ruined everything for your team and our school if you hadn't lost your temper."

He seized Izzy by the collar.

"You certainly wouldn't have gotten suspended if you hadn't let those immature people get to you and resort to their level."

"I'm going to kill you."

"What?" Izzy glared right back at him, unwearied by Tai's threat. "You go around yelling at people all you want, but we can't do the same to you? That isn't very fair, is it?"

"That's it!"

He pulled his arm back to punch, though he opted instead to give him a hard shove. Izzy stumbled a few steps back, though he quickly straightened up again.

"I'm saying this because you're deconstructing logic and making it sound like you've been caught in this unfortunate situation that isn't your fault," Izzy retorted. "Everything that's happened, it happened because you chose to make it that way. I'm sorry everything worked out the way it did. Really, I am. Life sucks sometimes, Tai, but it doesn't mean you give up. I never thought I'd have to remind _you_ of all people of that!"

He stepped forward, though Izzy stood his ground. "Why are you trying to teach me something? You have nothing to teach me, and I have nothing to learn from you. I'm sick and fucking tired of everybody coming up to me just to attack me! I'm over it, Izzy!"

"I'm _not_ attacking you," Izzy snapped irritably. "I'm here, aren't I? What, you think I decided not to study for the most important exam of my academic career thus far because I wanted to come here and make fun of you? Do you really think I have nothing better to do with my time? I'm on your side, Tai. So is everyone else. You're just too busy feeling sorry for yourself that you refuse to see it." Izzy took a step forward also, his expression firm. "You have to stop this madness. You can't let something that happened in a span of three days jeopardise the next three years of your life! You love soccer, and you shouldn't need me to remind you of that!"

"Oh yeah?!" Tai asked, his voice rising too. "Let's see here. Because of soccer, I'm not allowed to eat what I want. Because of soccer, I'm not allowed to hang out with my friends or sit around doing nothing because the soccer ball is my only friend and the soccer pitch is my only home. Because of soccer, I have to throw up every other time I push myself too hard, because it's the only way I'll get my strength back to play some more. You're really convincing me here, Izzy. I knew I should have turned to you for advice."

Izzy's hard exterior softened. "Tai, I know you're under stress, but you can't only think about those things. Your family really cares about you, and so do your friends. So a few people you've never talked to say some rotten things. How could you let that compare to people who actually know you? And okay, I admit your training has gotten intense in the past few months, but it isn't like somebody was standing over you with a whip forcing you to do it. You can cut back and still have fun with it, Tai. Before you started dieting and vomiting and whatever else you were doing, you were still our best player. I don't know why you let yourself believe you needed to kill yourself for it, but you were always good enough to play at a university level."

Tai looked at Izzy's pleading face, knowing his expression was stony in comparison.

"I play it because it's what everybody expects me to. I don't like it anymore."

Izzy's eyes darted back and forth between his own, looking disturbed as he tried to gather his thoughts to form cohesive words.

He then shut them, shook his head in defeat and turned away.

"Fine then. I have an exam to study for."

"Bye."

His coldness made Izzy tense up again, and he turned to look at Tai, hand on the doorknob.

"You know, I've always looked up to you. It's upsetting to know you aren't as great as I always thought you were."

He rolled his eyes. "If you're trying to guilt me, it won't work."

"I'm not, but you know what? You're right. You're not a child anymore. You should live your own life and make your own decisions, however wrong they may be." His glare intensified, and his grip on his doorknob tightened. "But just for the record, I don't give a shit about soccer."

This caught Tai's attention.

Izzy was swearing?

"It's boring and it's pointless, and I don't understand why people think the number of times some guys kick a stupid ball into a net—a pretty big one in contrast to the ball, by the way—somehow reflects our school's credentials. It's absurd." He shook his head then chuckled a little, alleviating the terse expression on his face. "You know what else I really don't care about?"

"Baseball?" Tai guessed sarcastically.

"Matt and Sora's relationship," Izzy answered, ignoring him. "They're my friends, and good for them, but let's be honest. You guys are eighteen, and they're bound to break up in the next year or so. Can't wait to see how that breaks up our little group even more."

It was with that revelation that Tai went from mildly interested to genuinely shocked. These were things that he never thought would ever come out of Izzy's mouth. Hell, he didn't think Izzy would even take the time to think them.

"What I'm saying is that I don't care about your sport or some insignificant red card or what preposterous rumours the next idiot thinks of or a crush that probably won't mean anything to you by this time next year." He looked focally at Tai as he opened the door. "I care about my friends, so no matter how hard you fall, I hope you know that at least one person is lame enough not to care about your reputation."

He knew his friend was trying to get through to him, but Izzy was the least emotional person he knew, and, to be frank, his life was easy. He was the perfect pupil and the perfect son, someone his mother liked to compare him to when she found he was not studying or not listening.

Somebody like Izzy couldn't possibly understand.

Izzy shut the door again, now looking at Tai with a peculiar face.

"Did you know there's a new girl in my year?"

He was confused by the random question. "No."

"Well, we have one. She's a transfer. She's really smart."

"So what? You like her?"

Izzy's usually stoic face crinkled to show irony and even a little bit of amusement.

"No. As a matter of fact, I can't stand a single thing about her. I don't think I've ever hated anyone so much in my entire life, and I've never even said a word to her." He laughed a little, bitterness etched in each chuckle. "For three years I've worked to be the top of my class, and in a split second, she's kicked me right off. Even if I get perfect scores until I graduate, I still won't be able to catch up with her. Not at the rate she's going."

Tai rolled his eyes, realising Izzy's seemingly random question was in fact leading to another attempt at making a point. "Yeah, so you're the second smartest guy in your class. Boo-hoo. How does that compare to my situation?"

Izzy's expression returned to normal. "It's all relative. Being second may be the end of the world for me. To you, it may sound pretty good. Not winning the championship may be the end of the world for you. For the team who's never left group stages? I bet they'd be proud of making it to the Round of 16." He smirked. "I'll tell you what though. I'm going home to study. I may not have a chance to graduate first in my year anymore, but I'd rather be second than nothing."

At the very least, Tai could appreciate what his friend was trying to say, but it didn't mean it had any effect on him. It wasn't just about one thing. It was the accumulation of everything, and at the root of it all was soccer. Or Sora.

Anyway, it didn't matter. The latter he couldn't control, but he could at least do something about the former.

"You know, if you want me to, I could loosen her up for you. Put on the Kamiya charm," Tai joked.

Izzy chuckled. "Please. You're a has-been. I have more of a shot than you do now." He grinned once more. "Besides, I don't need cheap tricks to cheat my way back to the top. I'm not smarter than her. Life happens. Accept it, and move on." He opened the door for a final time. "Good luck then."

When he left, Tai found himself smiling dumbly by himself.

He never knew Izzy could joke. It was a little funny, but it made no difference to his decision.

The door opened again, though in Izzy's place stood his sister. His smile faded. He was getting annoyed by the countless number of people trying to talk to him.

"I've made up my mind, Kar. Don't try to talk me out of it," he started before she had a chance to say anything.

She closed the door lightly behind her and leaned on it, frowning. "That's not what I wanted to talk about."

"Then what is it?"

"You shouldn't have said that stuff about TK back there."

He held in the urge to roll his eyes and lied down on his bed instead.

Kari marched from his door to his bedside, looking down at him.

"I can't believe you said those things. Now Mum and Dad will think badly of him, not to mention what Izzy might think. I might not be dating him, but he's one of my absolute best friends, and you just made him sound like a complete jerk."

"He is a jerk, Kari." Tai sat up and gave Kari a stern look. "TK might _seem_ nice, but he's a guy. He's probably a complete jerk behind that little front of his. Not to mention that he's Matt's brother, and Matt is the biggest tool that's ever existed. Believe me, Kari, aside from me, all guys out there are after one thing."

She stamped her foot. "No! TK isn't like that, and right now you're acting like a bigger jerk than TK or Matt have ever been! You're making all of us worry about you, and you don't even care! We were all worried sick when you were overexerting yourself to get a scholarship, and then you come home and tell us you've quit?! Don't you even care about our family?!"

He was admittedly a little awestruck by his sister's choice of words. He didn't think she had ever spoken to him like that before.

"You really think I'm a jerk?" he asked finally.

"Yes, right now I do." She looked up to the ceiling and blinked once in an effort not to cry. She looked back at him, her eyes glazed over slightly. "Now go apologise to our parents. They're both really angry. This has always been your dream, Tai. I don't know what's wrong with you since you won't tell me, but whatever it is, is it really worth giving up what you've wanted to do your entire life?"

He shook his head. He felt bad for his sister, but what she said didn't change anything either.

"I'm sorry, Kar, but I meant what I said when I said I quit. I'll get into uni the normal way and find the money for it somehow, so don't worry about me anymore. Tell Mum and Dad the same thing." He paused. "As for TK, just know it's important to me that you don't date him."

She looked frustrated. "I'm _not_ dating him."

"Yeah, well, any idiot can tell he likes you, so if he makes his move, say no," he snapped irritably. She looked shocked by his assertion, and when she didn't say anything immediately, he added, "Davis is better."

She frowned. "First of all, you're wrong because TK doesn't like me that way. Second, Davis is my friend too, and I don't compare him to TK."

He chuckled bitterly. "Wow, Kari. We really are siblings."

Kari was just as clueless about TK as he had been about Sora.

If only she could see the truth he now saw.

Well, no. He'd never wish this sort of thing on her.

Kari shook her head, then walked to his door to leave. "Please think everything over again. You know we're always here for you, right?"

"Good night," was his only reply.

She sighed, shook her head once more then left with a defeated look on her face. He stared at his door for a minute, almost expecting his parents to walk in next. When the door remained closed, he lied down once again.

He couldn't take this. In one day, Sora, Davis, TK, Izzy and Kari had all tried to have serious talks with him. He was sick of it. He didn't need people to feel sorry for him or to criticise him.

For crying out loud, he was upset, not mentally unstable. He was grumpy, not a jerk.

Why, even _Kari_ had called him one. And why? Because he was being a good older brother by protecting her? She was young. She was naïve. She had no clue. TK was as imperfect as the next teenage boy, and it wouldn't be long before he showed his true colours.

After all, he was Matt's little brother. That was reason enough.

He was doing her a favour by telling her in advance. A guy like him didn't deserve a chance with someone like Kari. Ever. He was horrible! He was vile! He was the worst! He—

He…

He brought her medicine from China…

Because he was worried for her health…

_An eight-year-old child forced into something he was probably much too young to handle, scared and manipulated into believing that his beloved older brother had abandoned him. Teary blue eyes staring at him in desperation as he practically begged,_

"_Do you think I could be your little brother instead?"_

His heart clenched at the memory. He sat up abruptly, ignoring the pain searing through his head from hitting the unused top bunk. If anything, the shock only cleared his mind more.

What the hell was he thinking? What exactly was trying to convince himself of?

He had continually said to himself that he was the victim, and it had grown to the point where he had come to believe it. He had refused to see himself as being wrong or crazy, but it was all just a lie.

Matt stole Sora. The team betrayed him. His friends hated him.

"_Everything that's happened, it happened because you chose to make it that way."_

He started the Odaiba-Ichioka feud by peeing on their stadium for no good reason other than the fact that he could. He failed his Physics exam because he didn't study for it. He got suspended because he fought someone. His friends were angry with him because he refused their approaches to talk to him.

…Matt and Sora happened because he pushed her to him.

Up until this point, he had been watching life unfold through his own lens, but the truth was far from what he was biasedly seeing—what he wanted to see.

In Matt and Sora's story, he was the villain, the so-called friend trying to bring everyone down because of something that didn't go his way.

Izzy was right. He really was good at feeling sorry for himself.

And TK. All the boy wanted to do was give his sister some damn drink, and what had he gained from throwing it away? TK was sure to ask Kari about it later, and it would be made very obvious that Tai had simply never given it to her. She'd be upset with him even more.

He had to get it.

He charged to his door and opened it to see his family in the sitting room, no doubt whispering about him. He walked past their confused faces, quickly making his way out the door with his feet barely in his trainers. It was raining as TK foretold, but he couldn't be bothered to go back inside for a brolly.

He ran out into the street and looked frantically at his surroundings.

Which one was it?

He couldn't remember.

Aimlessly, he ran to the nearest rubbish bin and stuck his arm in it, moving bits of trash until he concluded it wasn't inside. He moved on to the next one.

He cursed as his hand touched something sticky. Disgusting.

"Tai! Tai!"

He heard his sister scream his name, but he didn't turn around, running to the next bin to scavenge that too. He was sure spectators thought he was homeless or crazy or both, but he didn't care.

"Tai!"

He felt arms wrap around him and his sister pulling him back. Her brolly fell, though neither of them paid it any mind.

"Tai, what are you doing?! Stop! Please stop!"

He wanted to say something but was so wrapped in his thoughts that the words wouldn't come out. Instead, he dragged her frail body with him to the next rubbish bin, where he finally saw the familiar box. He reached in to grab it, brushing aside stains that hadn't been there half an hour ago, then held it out for her.

"This is for you."

She didn't take it, looking at him too as if he were insane.

"TK told me he wanted me to give this to you," Tai explained. "His mum got it from China."

She continued to stare blankly. "What?"

"It's some sort of medicine or energy drink or something like that. I threw it away because I didn't want you to fall in love with him for giving this to you."

Her look of confusion changed to one of bewilderment. "What?! Tai! Are you crazy?!"

"Yeah, I am," he said loudly. "I'm crazy, and that's why I threw it away. Kari, you have to promise me something." He grasped her shoulder with his clean hand and looked her straight in the eye. "You cannot date TK."

"_What_?"

"You can't date him," he repeated, almost pleading. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's important to me right now. So, please, promise me you won't."

"Tai, for the millionth time, TK and I are just friends," she said with furrowed brows. "But I don't understand. Why is that so important to you?"

"Don't ask me why. Just swear it." His grip on the box and her shoulder tightened. "Even if he tells you he loves you tomorrow, you can't date him."

"Tai, we're just friends, but you're worrying me. Just tell me—"

"If I give this to you and you take it, I can't see you two together. I don't want to see him over at our house. I don't want to see you two walking down the hallway at school together. I don't want to ever see him near you. I swear I'll go mad if you do."

The look on her face mimicked the desperation on his, though it was laced with fright at the prospect that her friend had done something horrible to her brother. "Tai, please, tell me what happened. What did TK do that's gotten you so upset?"

"He didn't do anything. It's just important to me."

"So what am I supposed to do? Tell him I can't be his friend anymore for no reason?"

"I don't care what you tell him. Tell him I told you so. It doesn't matter. Just don't fall in love with him. Be his friend, fine, but don't ever become his girlfriend. You'll regret it forever."

"Tai, I'm not going to fall in love with him, but what are you doing? I don't understand why you're being like this. This isn't you."

She looked at him with desperate eyes, searching for a clue he wouldn't give her. She clutched his forearm, her gaze still pleading.

"Can you just tell me why? Any sort of hint?"

Crazed images sprouted in his mind. Sora with Matt, his sister with TK. The two couples married at 18 and 15, respectively, making him Sora's family member by extension.

He knew he was trying to change the path that was his sister's life. It wasn't his place to disqualify TK for his own selfish reason when the only "wrong" TK had done was being born into the Ishida-Takaishi line.

But the image of him being Sora's family member refused to go away.

"_Do you think I could be your little brother instead? Please?"_

_Never._

"He doesn't deserve you."

* * *

This is getting too melodramatic for me. I'm emotionally drained.

Anyway, as I said, this was one of the first chapters I wrote for this story. In its initial stages, I was going to incorporate more of the Takari/Daikari subplot, which is why you saw so much of them here. Ultimately, I chose to go against that, so don't really expect too much from them. They aren't really a main or even secondary focus to this story, but I couldn't delete everything either. Same goes for Izzy, who was originally a much more involved character.

The scene where TK asks to be Tai's little brother is taken from the 22nd episode of the first series.

Sorry for the complete lack of Sora interaction. I'll make up for it in the next chapter.


	18. Chapter 18

I'm on a roll. Thank long-haul flights and procrastination of duties that actually matter in my life.

As always, thank you so much for the feedback! (And sorry for making Tai such an abhorring person, haha.)

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 18**

Sora never was a fan of gossiping, especially when it pertained to her friends.

Not that she could really consider Tai a friend at this point.

Nevertheless, she found herself unintentionally eavesdropping on the conversation of the group who sat behind her in her morning class. She hadn't meant to, but when she heard them discussing Tai and how he was off the soccer team, she couldn't help but listen. She couldn't ever see that happening—_ever_.

Evidently, neither could another. "No way!"

"Yeah, I'm serious! I heard some of the guys on the team talking about it this morning."

"It's true! I heard he got kicked off because he got into that fight the other day. I can't believe he just punched some poor guy like that! He's such a thug!"

"Really? _I_ heard they kicked him off it's because his grades weren't good enough. I've always known he was a little stupid."

"You two are both wrong. He quit himself! Good thing he did too! He made us lose, so it was his responsibility to quit!"

"Maybe he quit because everybody hates him now. I heard he's thinking about transferring schools because of it."

"That'd make him even stupider! He's in his last year." A condescending laugh. "I can't believe you ever thought he was cute. He's so lame."

"Ew, I never said that! I think he's so gross!"

Sora had heard enough. Tai may have been acting like a complete jerk lately, but it was no reason for these people who didn't even know him to go around and spread rumours—rumours that probably began his outburst in the first place. She turned around to give her classmates an icy glare.

"Are you quite done?" she asked angrily, silencing them instantly. "For your information, Tai isn't a thug, and his grades are fine. If you want to know why he's off the team, maybe you should ask him yourself once he comes in instead of being cowards and talking behind his back."

For the most part, they looked embarrassed by Sora's scolding, though one girl talked back. Yoshiko, a usually proper girl with whom she rarely spoke.

"Some of us aren't all over him like you are, darling."

She felt her anger begin to kick in by the unwarranted claim. "_Excuse_ me? Tai's my _friend_, and I am _not_ all over him."

"Oh, right. You're dating Matt Ishida, right?" She smirked belittling at her. "You couldn't even get a loser like Tai, but how'd you score a guy like Matt? I guess you got lucky that he doesn't go for looks."

The last sentiment was something she heard a lot in the past two months. She had learned to not let it get to her, but it was the first accusation that stirred a primal urge to attack this girl.

"For your information, I was never trying to get with Tai," she said, trying to sound calm though her head was ringing. She wished the rest of the class weren't being so loud so Mr Mizumi could punish Yoshiko, but nobody else was really paying any attention to them.

"Oh, please!" Yoshiko looked to her friends, laughing. "Do you know how pathetic you looked when you tried to ask him to dinner that one time? He rejected you, darling. That's pretty embarrassing, given your so-called 'friend' has a reputation on hitting on any girl that looks his way. Maybe you two are perfect for each other. You're both so desperate."

Strangely enough, her anger wasn't rising because this Yoshiko girl was so blatantly insulting her. Rather, it was because she kept bringing up her former crush on Tai. Sora hated thinking about that time in her life, especially since it had ended with Tai indirectly rejecting her. It was humiliating, and it was even more mortifying that people she had never talked to such as Yoshiko knew about it.

Just as she was about to say something back, Yoshiko quickly paled and scurried off to her seat. Sora noticed Yoshiko's other friends did the same before also realising that the entire room had gotten quiet.

She turned around to see that Tai had walked in, his face showing no indication of awkwardness or acknowledgement that the usually loud classroom had gotten uncomfortably silent upon his arrival.

He looked different, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It might have been because he wasn't carrying his sport bag, or maybe because his uniform looked ironed for once. Nevertheless, he didn't look like the same Tai she always knew.

She knew she was supposed to hate him at the moment, but she couldn't help feel a little protective of him also. The class was shunning him, and so obviously so.

He walked over to Mr Mizumi's desk, still looking unaware that the entire class was watching his every move.

She almost said something to him, something as ordinary as "good morning" to make it known to the class that she too wasn't ostracising him, but he spoke up first.

"May I request a seat change?"

He hadn't said it very loudly, but with the unnerving silence of the room, everyone could hear him.

The _nerve_!

Though she had spent quite some time in the morning dreading sitting next to Tai all day, she felt her face grow hot in anger. She couldn't believe him. Yes, this had to be the worst fight they had ever had, but she didn't think he had _actually_ been serious when he said he didn't want to be friends anymore. They were angry. People said stupid things when they were angry, but she didn't think he'd terminate their friendship over it.

The pity she thought she felt for him disappeared in an instant.

Mr Mizumi, usually strict, obliged to Tai's request, offering him an empty seat in the back. Tai walked to it with poise, not really looking anyone in the eye. If he felt awkward, Sora couldn't tell.

It also never occurred to her that she was looking at him the same way as everyone else, watching him judgmentally as he made his way to his new seat at the end of the classroom.

* * *

The moment the bell rang at the end of the day, Tai bolted out the door, leaving no time for her to say anything to him—not that she had really planned on it anyway.

It was odd how silent he had been during their classes. She doubted he said a word the entire day. Being so quiet didn't suit him.

Even during lunchtime, he had put headphones over his ears before consuming a lunch large enough to feed a small family and unhealthy enough to make any doctor faint. She took the headphones as a sign of him not wanting to be disturbed, so she had taken her lunch to Matt's as usual.

It was during that time that Matt told her he had band practice after school, so, knowing she would not walk home with him, she took her time to tidy her desk and gather her things.

"Hello? Sora?"

She looked up to see Kari at the threshold of her classroom, looking slightly out of breath as if she had ran there.

"Hey Kari," she greeted nicely, standing up. She quickly made her way to her, leading her to the hallway, out of earshot of the remaining students. While she was sure Kari had heard her share of backlash against her brother, she felt like she should still shelter her from her classmates. "Tai's already left."

Kari looked at her guiltily, looking uncomfortable. "Actually, I was hoping you could do me a favour, Sora."

She raised an eyebrow. Kari never asked for favours.

"It's Tai," Kari continued quietly. "He's been acting really strange, and he's even quit the soccer team. I'm really worried about him, but he won't tell me anything. Maybe it's because I'm his sister. You're really close to him, so do you think you could try to talk to him for me?"

Sora winced. She should have known Kari would ask about him.

As much as she wanted to help Kari, talking to Tai was out of the question.

"Kari, I'm not sure anything I'll say will help. We aren't on the greatest of terms right now, so I don't think your brother really wants to talk to me. Besides, if this is what he wants to do, it'll take a lot to get him to change his mind. You know how stubborn he gets."

Kari didn't respond, her desperate stare unchanged.

And then to Sora's utter horror, Kari blinked and tears started forming in her eyes.

"B…but…" Kari stuttered finally, still not blinking. "Tai… Tai's… He's… Sora, please!" She squeezed her eyes shut, and the tears began to fall. She covered her eyes with her hands in a futile attempt to shield them, but it was obvious from the way she was talking. "Davis already tried and got threatened while he just pretended nothing was happening when TK talked to him Izzy only got frustrated and I feel bad because he had an exam today and it's my fault if he doesn't do well he won't say anything to me or our parents and I don't know what else to do because something's obviously wrong with him and he's really upset but nobody can help him!"

Sora instinctively reached out to pull Kari into a hug. Kari was one of the most composed people she knew, and she rarely strayed from that image. She felt sorry for her, but she also felt a little angry that Tai had upset her to the point where she was crying at school.

"People are saying awful things about him, you know," Kari mumbled into her shoulder before pulling away from their embrace slowly. She lightly dabbed her eyes with her sleeve, sniffling.

"I know, Kari. Don't take what they say to heart."

She nodded, though her expression looked so pitiful that Sora felt her heart break for her. Kari did one final sniffle before bringing her mobile up to her face, presumably to check her reflection to make sure she didn't look like she had just cried.

"Please don't tell him about this," Kari pleaded her. "He'll be really upset, and I don't want him to worry about me."

It always surprised Sora how selfless Kari could be, especially when it came to her brother. Kari never saw wrong in him, even when he was so obviously wrong. She never blamed him for anything or did anything that would inconvenience him in the slightest, never wanting to let him down or worry him.

It was ironic because in her quest to please him, she made her brother worry.

"I'll talk to him," Sora conceded. She wanted to comfort Kari at the very least, though she felt anything but comfortable at the prospect of talking to Tai after what had happened the day before.

"Really?" Kari's eyes brightened. "Sora, thank you so much!"

"Of course," Sora said with a warm smile as Kari squeezed her into another hug. "Don't worry so much about him, Kari. He'll come around. He always does."

"I really hope so." Kari gave her a weak smile.

"Watch out. Here comes your posse," Sora joked as she spotted Davis, Yolei and TK walking towards them. Kari turned around for a second, then looked back at Sora.

"Do I look like I've been crying?" she asked quietly.

"No, you look fine," Sora assured.

And it was true. Sora always thought it was odd how pretty of a crier Kari was. When she cried, she looked like an ugly, wet mess.

Sora greeted the younger ones first. "Hey guys."

They all exchanged their hellos, and while Sora and Kari pretended nothing had happened, Sora saw TK pull Kari's aside and quietly ask, "Are you all right?"

Kari gave him an awkward smile and a nod, then turned to walk to Yolei without a word. Sora raised an eyebrow at TK, who shrugged.

"She's been acting like that all day," TK muttered. "I think she's mad at me."

"Why would she be mad at you?"

He shrugged again. "I don't know."

That was weird. TK and Kari never fought.

"I hate exams!" Yolei whinged suddenly. "I can't believe it's such a beautiful day, and I have to spend it inside studying! It's not faaaair!"

"Oh, shut up," Davis grumbled, which earned him a menacing glare from Yolei.

Kari intervened before Davis and Yolei's spat could escalate. "How about we study outside? We can go to the beach and study there. It'd be a lot nicer than being in a library."

"That's a great idea!" Yolei cried enthusiastically. Her face then fell. "Too bad my exam tomorrow is for Computer Science. I need a computer to study for it."

"Oh no, that's too bad…" Kari said disappointedly. "Davis?"

"I can't," he answered, looking glummest of all. "Soccer practice. I'd skip it if I could, but after T—" He cut himself off awkwardly. "I can't."

"I'll go with you," TK offered. "We're studying for the same exam anyway. We can test each other."

"Oh, well," Kari smiled pleasantly at him. "Actually, I think I'm just going to go home. I just remembered that I have to empty out Miko's litter box. Maybe next time."

Because Kari was always so polite, Sora had difficulty differentiating between her legitimate reasons and her excuses made up to cover the fact she didn't want to do something. While she thought it had been one of the former, the expression on TK's face suggested otherwise.

She had no time to dwell on the thought, however, as she suddenly jumped in fright as she heard a loud "BOO!" in her ear. She turned around frantically to see who had scared her, her heart beating wildly.

"_Akita_!" she hissed, seeing him laughing amusedly.

"Can't believe you fell for that," he said with a grin.

"Everybody falls for that," she snapped, shooting him an irritated look. "When you sneak up on a person and yell in their ear, it's going to surprise them, no matter who they are."

He only responded with more laughter.

"Hello Akita," Kari greeted cordially.

"Hey Kar," Akita said back with a flirty wink that did little to faze her. Davis, on the other hand, stepped in between them. Akita paid the action little mind, and Sora too knew Akita was being harmless.

"Don't worry," Sora teased. "Davis was just talking about going to soccer practice, weren't you, Davis?"

Davis nodded, trying to hide his protective scowl over Kari from his senior.

"Actually, I came here to see you. Can we talk?"

Sora looked at him confusedly. "Why?"

"Because I want to talk to you," he said matter-of-factly.

Though his answer was annoying, she agreed anyway, taking the hint that it was something that he didn't want to say in front of others.

Before Akita turned to walk away, he winked again at Kari. "You look cute today, Kar. I'll talk to you later."

Davis once again looked annoyed when Kari shyly thanked him for the compliment.

"Why do you do that?" Sora asked disapprovingly once they were out of earshot of the others. "You're purposely trying to get on Davis' nerves."

"Actually, I do it to get on Kamiya's nerves," he corrected, his tone indicating he did not care. "That isn't important. Did you hear that Kamiya quit the team?"

"I've heard he quit the team, I've heard he got kicked out of the team, I've heard everything. Which one is it?"

"He quit. Yesterday morning."

"Why?"

"Because he's an idiot." She frowned at his answer to which he smiled, though it quickly faded. "So you don't know why?"

"No. Tell me."

Akita looked frustrated as he ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. "I'm asking you because I was hoping you could tell me."

She shrugged. "Sorry."

She realised too late that she came off sounding like she didn't care about the situation, but Akita hadn't seemed to catch on as he only appeared nervous.

"Okay, fine. I think I know, but I'm not completely sure." She looked at him with interest as he shuffled nervously. "That night we lost, I kind of freaked out at him in the locker room."

"You did?" she asked in disbelief. Akita rarely got angry. She had never seen it anyway.

"I was annoyed we lost, and he'd been acting up the past few weeks, so I just had enough and blew up. And you know Kamiya. He blew up too, so we kind of fought."

"Like fought-fought?" Sora asked, punching her palm as indication.

He chuckled at her demo. "No, not 'fought-fought.' Well, maybe. He threatened me and I egged him on, but Coach broke us up before he could punch me."

Really, how many people was Tai picking fights with anyway?

"You two are both dumb," Sora concluded.

"Yes, Mum." He laughed when she glared at him. "Anyway, I tried to call him to apologise, but he won't answer. Takenouchi, do you know what Coach will do to me if he finds out I'm the reason Kamiya quit? He'll literally rip me apart. You don't understand how angry he is. I thought he was going to kill us yesterday, and I'm seriously considering getting run over by a car just to get out of practice today. I was only yelling at Kamiya. I didn't think he would flip out and quit the damn team because of it!"

She personally doubted a fight with Akita would push Tai to quit the team. According to Akita, they fought Saturday night, but Tai quit Tuesday morning. By then, he had faced the backlash of the loss, so if she had to take a guess, he had quit because of that.

She informed Akita of this, who shrugged. "Maybe. Kamiya usually doesn't give a shit what people say about him though."

She frowned at his language, to which he responded by saying it again.

"Well, I'm going to go talk to him now," Sora told him, pretending she hadn't heard. "I'll let you know what he says."

"Perfect," Akita said happily. "Oh, but…" He smirked. "I know how you two get, so—"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she interrupted defensively.

"You two find a reason to argue over everything."

"We do not!"

"Yes, you really do. Anyway, before I was so _rudely_ interrupted," he continued good-naturedly. "I'm saying it wouldn't be the end of the world if you let Kamiya have this one. Let him have his way."

She frowned. "Excuse you, Akita, but I always let him have his way."

"Yeah, but you do it with a snooty attitude that just makes things worse."

"I do _not_!"

"You do _too_!" he said, copying her tone for fun, though she was not amused. "Look, the reason you two argue so much is because neither of you ever refuse to back down. Just suck it up for once, Takenouchi."

She felt herself get even more defensive, offended by his accusation. "I always suck it up!"

"Yeah, you do." He bobbed his eyebrows at her, grinning.

She hit his arm.

"Sorry," he said, obviously not meaning it as he was laughing at his inappropriate joke. His laughter died down to a smug smile upon seeing her face. "Aw, don't tell me I've hurt your little feelings."

She crossed her arms. "You're so immature, Akita."

"Which reminds me, don't _scold_ him so much," he continued, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "Even if he says something that makes him sound like a five-year-old, just let it go. You don't have to point it out. Pointing it out doesn't make it any better. It just makes you sound like a six-year-old with a sense of entitlement for being a little older."

She was growing more offended by the minute with Akita pointing out all her flaws. "If you know how to handle Tai so well, why don't _you_ talk to him?"

He shrugged. "Kamiya and I don't talk about things like that."

"Yeah? Then what do you talk about?"

He chuckled. "Soccer and girls. Girls and soccer. You know, the important things in life."

She rolled her eyes, not particularly surprised. "I can't believe in all the years you two have known each other, those are the only two things you guys have ever talked about."

"This is what I mean," Akita accused again. "Don't belittle him by saying things like that. You do it all the time, and obviously someone as sensitive as Kamiya is going to get offended by it."

She thought it was almost funny that Akita called Tai sensitive. That was the last word she would ever use to describe him.

However, for the sake of not being the butt of his joke once more, she only said, "I don't belittle people, Akita. You are so rude."

"Come off it, Takenouchi. You've been acting like our mums since we were in primary school." He changed his pitch to sound shrill and feminine. "'_You are so rude._'"

She hit him on the shoulder again. "I do not! Now stop it!"

"You just did it again! '_Now stop it!_'" he copied obnoxiously, laughing. He stopped when she glared at him. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, Kamiya is probably worse. The two of you make terrible friends. That's why I can't hang out with the both of you together anymore."

She could tell by his expression that he was joking, but his statement offended her anyway.

"Anyway, I should go." Akita looked at his mobile for the time. "I'm going to be late for practice. I would be scared of what Coach is going to do, but whether I'm on time or late, he's still going to murder us."

"Bye," she muttered.

He walked a few steps, then suddenly turned around and walked to her again.

"Actually, can I ask you something? It's kind of awkward, but I've been wondering for a while now."

Despite his warning, he was smiling.

"What is it?"

"Awkward for you, not me," Akita clarified. He smirked as he crossed his arms against his chest. "Did you and Kamiya ever have a thing?"

Caught off-guard by the sudden question, she grew flustered. "What?! No! Why would you think that?!"

He shrugged. "No reason."

"Obviously, there's a reason if you say you have an awkward question and follow it up with something like that!"

"Calm down, sheesh," he teased, pretending to fan her. "I don't know. He denied it too, but I just thought you two were keeping it on the down-low or something."

"But what on _Earth_ made you think something like that in the first place?!"

He grinned from ear to ear, his eyes flaring mischievously. "You seem pretty interested to know. This is only heightening my suspicions, Takenouchi."

Akita, much like Tai, had an uncanny ability to push her buttons. The thing that made him different, however, was that he did it on purpose. She could tell from his facial expressions how much he loved it.

"Well, you couldn't be more wrong! I couldn't care less why you thought such a stupid thing!"

"All right then. I won't tell you." He saluted her. "See you around."

He started to walk away again, though he turned his head to grin massively at her, obviously teasing.

She couldn't believe how immature he was.

She also couldn't believe he hadn't told her his reasoning, but now it was too late. If she ever brought it up again, he would make fun of her until they were eighty.

Not that she was interested. She only wanted to know why he thought something like that out of astonishment, not because his answer would have any meaning to her.

* * *

Now that he had quit soccer, finding Tai proved harder than she thought it would be. He wasn't at either of the soccer pitches he frequented, nor was he at home, and he had turned his mobile off.

She sighed.

As much as she didn't want to disappoint Kari, she really didn't want to talk to Tai either. After their fight the day prior, it amazed her how selfish and downright mean Tai could be. He had blatantly insulted her, and even though she was going to talk to him, she refused to apologise for anything. This was a favour for Kari and nothing else.

Deciding that Tai could have probably moved places in the hour or so she had spent searching for him, she decided to check the soccer pitch in the park once more. This time, he was there.

He was standing by himself, lazily walking around, lightly kicking a soccer ball as he went. He was eating a large bag of potato crisps, and he certainly didn't look as angry as he had been the past few days. In fact, he looked almost serene.

She stood for a moment, wondering how she was going to do this. He had made it very clear to her how unhappy he was with her. She could almost see him walking away at the sight of her.

She kicked all the thoughts aside. She had finally found him, and she wasn't going to waste time thinking about ways to approach him. It was only Tai for crying out loud. She would attempt to talk to him, and if he wouldn't let her, he wouldn't let her. She would have at least tried.

She called out his name, but he didn't answer. Upon closer inspection, she saw a pair of headphones over his ears.

"Tai!" she said louder, making her way to him.

Still not hearing her, he continued to walk to the other side of the field, moving the ball lightly between his feet, never really using any effort. Once he had reached one end of the field, he turned around. It was then that he finally noticed her.

"Sora?" he asked quizzically, taking off his headphones in confusion. "What're you doing here?"

"I thought you quit." She gestured at the ball by his feet as she entered the field.

"Just because I quit the team doesn't mean I have to give it up altogether."

She tried not to get annoyed by his snappy response, though it was difficult considering she had come into the conversation already angry with him.

"What were you listening to?" she asked instead.

To her surprise, he gave her a small, amused smile. "_A Tale of Two Cities_. I never got around to reading it, but it's going to be on the exam tomorrow. I borrowed the audiobook from the library."

She frowned at his laziness. "Really, Tai. We were supposed to read that ages ago. How did you even manage to participate in the discussions or write that essay?"

"I read the summary online," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "You'd be surprised how detailed they are. I might as well have just read the book." He gave her a suspicious look. "I'm guessing you didn't come here to lecture me for being a bad student though."

"No, I didn't, but that's no excuse for you slacking off. If you're planning to go to the University of Tokyo next year, you can't get by with these kinds of study habits!"

He looked down and began to lightly pass the ball between his feet. "I'm not going to the University of Tokyo."

She knew this of course—it was the whole reason she had come—but she said it anyway to jumpstart the talk she wanted to have with him.

"Why are you acting like you didn't know?" he asked coldly. "You obviously knew about it, and I know you're here to talk me out of it. Kari, Izzy, Davis and TK have all tried, Sora. Save your breath."

She bit her lip. He had seen right through her, and now she didn't know what to do. If Kari and Davis couldn't convince him, there was no way she could.

"You said so yourself," he continued, not looking at her. "Soccer's all I cared about. It'll be all I have left if I keep going with it."

His words cut through her like a knife, and it suddenly dawned on her that everything was her fault. Yesterday morning when she had asked him to go on a run with her, Tai was still on the soccer team. By that afternoon, he was not. Sometime in between those times, he had quit, and her stomach twisted as it hit her what had pushed him to do it.

It was their fight.

She felt the colour drain from her face.

"Tai, I—"

She had spoken so meekly that Tai hadn't heard, so he spoke over her. "Anyway, I have to get back to my audiobook. Sorry you had to come all the way out here for nothing."

With that, he turned around, putting his headphones back on and sticking another crisp in his mouth.

She was certain it couldn't have only been what she had said to him to make him quit. It was most likely an accumulation of several things with their fight being the final straw, but what got to her was that she hadn't noticed any of it.

Before, she had been so aware of every discrepancy, however slight, in Tai's wellbeing. She could still remember how much she had worried when she saw him the night before he got his first scholarship offer. She had never seen him look so tired in her life, and her suspicions were confirmed the next night when he literally fainted on the field. She had worried about him so much that she lost sleep over it for nearly a week.

To go from that to telling him in a blind rage that she didn't want to be his friend anymore, it made her feel like a terrible person.

He had made her completely livid, yes, but she was supposed to know him. Tai said insensitive, rude things sometimes, but he was not overall a mean person. Had she looked at his malice as a sign of stress instead of genuine cruelty, perhaps she could have stopped him before he tipped himself over the edge.

She walked up to him, taking his shoulder and spinning him to face her with one hand and taking off his headphones with the other.

"What?" he snapped irritably.

"I want a game," she said simply, reaching to the ground to pick up his ball. "You and me, Kamiya. First one to five goals wins."

He scoffed. "Just you and me? There's no point."

"What? You scared you'll lose to a girl?" She began to walk to the middle of the field, turning her head to smirk at him. "In case you don't remember, Tai, I was just as good as you once—probably even better." She set the ball down in the middle. "Let's just see how your crazy training has paid off."

"Yeah?" He smirked too, his competitiveness kicking in. "What do I get if I win?"

"I won't nag at you for an entire month."

He looked amused. "And if I lose?"

"You have to admit that tennis is the better sport."

He laughed.

"All right then." He quickly popped the remaining crisps in his mouth and walked off to the side of the field to toss his headphones and empty bag on the ground. "I was going to go easy on you, but under those circumstances, I'm afraid I can't."

"Don't you dare go easy on me, Tai," she warned. "However, I'm in a skirt. It's a handicap, so you have to give yourself one too."

He walked to the middle of the field, standing just across from her. "I'll only shoot with my left foot."

"Perfect," she agreed, though she knew Tai was just as capable with his left foot as he was with his right.

Beating him wasn't her intention though.

"Your move," he offered, and she immediately kicked the ball to the other side of the field.

She ran after it as fast as she could, but Tai got to it first. Rather than giving it a long kick to the other side of the field, he only kicked it in short strokes, giving her chances to take it from him.

"Hey, I told you not to go easy on me!"

"It's no fun if I score right away," he explained, avoiding her foot as she tried to take the ball from him.

He reached the other side of the goal and kicked the ball in.

"Right foot!" she called out, pointing. "You cheated. That's a point for me."

He looked confused for a minute before realising what he had done, and he chuckled as he went to go pick up the ball. "Fine, I'll give it to you. 0-1."

* * *

"4-1," he said triumphantly as he once again tapped the ball into the net.

She panted a little from being out of breath as he went to retrieve the ball. "Don't you think you're acting a little too proud for winning against a girl?"

"I believe you were the one bragging about how you were once as good as me."

"I was!" she protested. "Don't you dare act like I wasn't!"

He looked in thought for a second before he nodded. "Yeah, you were."

"I was good for a girl, huh?" she continued with a smirk.

He returned her smirk with a genuine smile—the most genuine he had in a while. "You were good period, Sor."

She felt almost embarrassed by his compliment. She had quit soccer when she was twelve, still the age when Tai refused to concede that girls could be just as good as boys in sport. For the years that they played together, Tai never once admitted she was on par with him. It was a compliment overdue by six years, but she felt touched, as if this were still twelve-year-old Tai, cross that she had been granted the free kick instead of him.

"Your ball."

He passed it to her lightly. Tai was a faster runner than her, so she decided to just kick the ball as hard as she could to the goal so he couldn't take it from her. It was a cheap tactic, but it didn't matter since she was obviously going to lose anyway. She kicked and continued to run after it even as it soared in the air, but Tai somehow made it to the other side of the field in time to intercept the ball with his chest. She ran forward as he struggled to regain control the ball, holding out her hand so that she grabbed onto his sleeve, making him stumble and accidentally touch the ball with his forearm.

"Handball!" she called out excitedly.

"Foul!" he accused at the same time.

"I didn't do anything," she said innocently. "I definitely saw you touch it though, so it's a penalty kick for me."

"Cheap shot!" he protested, though he set the ball on the ground and walked away.

She struck the ball, and it flew into the net. "4-2!"

He snapped his fingers in feigned frustration. "Damn."

She frowned at him. "You really shouldn't curse so much, Tai. I've noticed that your language has become absolute filth these days."

"Darn," he corrected, re-enacting the scene by snapping his fingers again. "Better?"

His attitude would have probably annoyed her under normal circumstances, but she found herself laughing instead.

Maybe Akita was right about how much she scolded him.

"And that's five!" he cried out happily as he scored the final goal. He beamed at her. "You aren't allowed to nag at me for an entire month, Sora. This starts now."

"Congratulations," she said, offering him a high-five, which he returned. "I guess you're better than me after all."

He chuckled. "Well, you know, you play pretty well for a tennis player."

"So I've heard," she played along. "You know, there was this one time Tai Kamiya conceded two of my goals."

"Really? I heard that it was because you cheated and forced him to handle the ball."

"Nah, he was just being a sore loser and trying to make up excuses."

"Yeah, I heard that guy is such an ass. Did you know he got kicked off his soccer team because he slapped a girl across the face?"

She frowned, humour gone. "Tai, please don't tell me people are saying that about you."

"It doesn't matter. I don't really care what anybody has to say about me," he assured. "Did you know I also hired someone to offer me a fake scholarship to the University of Tokyo?"

She couldn't tell if he really did care or not, but she winced piteously. The light atmosphere they had made transformed into an uncomfortable silence at the mention of his new reputation. Tai went to pick up the ball, while she stood there awkwardly.

"Tai, can I ask you a question?" she asked when he came back to her, ball under his arm.

"Go ahead."

She looked down, wondering how to word her question properly. She had finally gotten Tai in a relatively good mood, and she didn't want to ruin it with a few misplaced words.

"Did you quit the team because of me?"

She looked up again to see his alarmed face. His body had frozen, and he dropped his soccer ball to the ground.

She decided to clarify. "I mean, is it because of what I said during our fight the other day? How I told you that you only care about soccer and nothing else. I only said it because I got so angry, Tai. I didn't mean it. I shouldn't have said it. I'm really sorr—"

"No," he interrupted, furrowing his brow. "That isn't why I quit." He looked up and sighed. "And don't apologise. You didn't say anything wrong. You're right. I did only care about soccer."

"That isn't true, Tai."

"It _is_ true," he said defiantly. "It's all I ever thought about. You were right when you said I prioritised it over my friends, and looking back I know I missed out on a lot of opportunities because of it. I was such a dumbass."

"Tai—"

"A dumb butt, sorry," he corrected quickly, waving a dismissive hand. "You aren't allowed to nag at me for a month, remember? Don't tell me you've already forgotten."

She tried not to smile. "That wasn't what I was going to say."

"I know I've been a real jerk lately, Sora. To you, to Kari, to everyone. I'm sorry." He sighed again. "But I didn't quit because of what you said. It was just time. I'm not good enough to make a career out of it, and I'd rather move on now than wait until I'm 25."

She frowned at his last statement.

It was the least 'Tai' thing she had ever heard him say. Just two months ago, he had been bragging about becoming a legend for Japanese soccer. Arrogant perhaps, but Tai was never one to doubt himself.

"Tai, I'm not trying to force you into joining the team again because it's your choice. Everyone has the right to make their own life decisions." She reached out to put her hands over his. "But you love soccer, Tai. You've loved it your entire life, and you shouldn't give it up because of one bad match or because some people are spreading nasty rumours or even because your stupid friend said some thoughtless things when she was upset."

He withdrew his hand from hers but didn't respond.

"Even if nobody believes you, _I_ know you didn't do anything you've been accused of doing, and your friends believe you too. You're an amazing player, and I don't want you to look back at this moment with any sort of regret." She frowned again, balling her hands to fists. "This isn't the Tai Kamiya I know. The Tai Kamiya I know would tell every person who has something to say to piss off and show each and every one of them up. Every great person starts off by being a nobody, so what if you're giving up the chance to become something great? You've already made it to getting university offers, Tai. Not every athlete gets this opportunity. I didn't get one, and I'd kill for the chance. Izzy told me he'd do anything to get accepted into the University of Tokyo next year too. You're being handed the chance of a lifetime. Are you really willing to throw it away over something that won't even matter by the time we graduate?" She put her hands on his shoulders, shaking him lightly as she looked at him pleadingly. "Tai, _none_ of this will matter in a year. You won't remember any of this by the time you've made it to the J. League or beyond that. Time heals everything, so please don't make the mistake of your life over something so trivial. I won't let you do it!"

She stared at his blank expression, waiting for a response that was not yet coming. She felt nervous but a little encouraged, as Tai was rarely rendered speechless.

Suddenly, she felt his weight on her as his arms wrapped around her body, squeezing rather tightly as his head flung over her shoulder.

She was surprised by his response, though she was glad that he at the very least was not yelling at her. She returned his hug, and his grip on her tightened even more.

"Tai," she whimpered after a moment. "You're hurting me."

He quickly let go, slightly flushed. "Sorry. I guess I got carried away."

"No, it's fine." She smiled at him. "I'm glad you got that off your chest. You know I'll always be here for you, right?"

He went quiet again, his expression morphing into something she couldn't quite read.

"And all those horrible things I said to you, they didn't mean anything. They were just words. And I hope everything you said to me was just as meaningless." She took his hands again and stared him in the eye. "I want you to know that you're such an important, dear friend to me, Tai, even if you think I don't always show it."

His expression was definitely strained, as if he was fighting to say something.

"What's wrong?" she asked, puzzled. Had she offended him again?

"Sora, I—" He stopped midsentence, shook his head and smiled. "Thank you."

She smiled back sheepishly. "I didn't do anything."

"No, you did everything. I'll think about what you said. Really." He leaned in to hug her again, careful not to crush her. "Oh, God, Sora. You're the greatest."

She felt herself being overcome by his familiarity, and she affectionately ran her hands up and down his back.

"You're the greatest too, Tai," she said with a little laugh.

He pulled away from her slightly, though his hands were holding her arms. His light demeanour had once again been replaced by a more serious one.

"What?" she asked lightly, smiling.

"Sora…" His voice was low, and he looked troubled. His grip on her tightened.

"What?" she repeated, now starting to get nervous.

"I…" He looked unsettled again, blinking fast and opening and closing his mouth though no words came out. "You… I…"

"Tai, I don't understand what you're trying to say," she said gently.

"It's just… I think… You…" He blinked hard and shook his head again, then gave a strained smile, letting his arms fall to his side. "You look rough."

She had just run up and down the field with him to play soccer, forgetting about her appearance. Feeling self-conscious, she frantically tried to smooth down her hair, though he instantly stopped her by taking her by the wrist.

"I was just kidding," he said rather seriously, his guise changing once more. "You look beautiful."

He probably didn't mean it. He probably only said it because he saw how self-conscious she had gotten, but she blushed anyway. He let go of her wrist, lowering his hand to move a lock of hair from her face instead.

It was with his fingers on her face that she noticed the lack of distance between them. Uncomfortable, she stumbled one step back, but he caught her by the waist and brought her body back to him. It seemed to be more out of reflex, but he wasn't letting go.

And maybe she was just imagining it, but she could have sworn he had brought her closer.

No, she definitely wasn't imagining it. She felt his arm around her waist pull her even nearer.

Her nerves tripled, and her heart started pumping harder against her chest. He was staring at her in a way he never had before, his arm flexed stiffly against her, his hand compressed against her side. Her first instinct told her to widen the gap between them, but she stood frozen.

"Tai," she managed to whisper when her body failed to respond properly.

"Sh," he murmured back. "Don't talk for a second."

Without questioning him, she did as she was told, simply watching as he suddenly leaned lower, shortening his height to match hers.

It was then that the reality of the situation hit her. He was too close, getting even closer. The world spun and time slowed, and she felt her friend come at her in slow motion as she stood still in real time.

Every fibre of her being told her to move. _Take one step to the side, turn your head just a little, push him away._

It was so easy. Avoiding this was so easy.

_Think of your boyfriend._

But his image never came up, and she felt her lids flutter to a close as Tai dipped in more and more. She felt a few strands from his fringe brush against her forehead and his breath on her lips. Even though her eyes were closed, she could feel him, millimetres away as his nose grazed hers, a thumb on her cheek while the rest of his hand slipped into her hair—

Her eyes opened when she heard him gasp, and she saw him jerk back just before their lips could touch. Time resumed its normal pace, and the world began to move as usual again.

He blinked.

She turned red.

He turned red.

"I—I'm so sorry," he said hurriedly, looking panicked. "I don't know what just came over me. I'm going to, er, go. I have to, er, listen to my audiobook."

He sprinted to his belongings, scooping them up in a single swipe. Without looking back at her, he broke into a run, leaving her there by herself.

She stared off in his direction, her heart still pounding and her ears ringing. She didn't know what to feel. She was supposed to be furious with him. He knew she had a boyfriend—and they were friends no less—but he had just tried to do something with her. She was supposed to want to kill him.

The only thing wrong with that was that she knew it hadn't been her who had pulled away; it had been him. She had just stood there, and had he not stopped himself…

She shook the thought away with a fierce shake of her head, her body shaking despite the warm summer air.

She didn't understand. When she started dating Matt, she thought she had thrown away all her feelings for Tai. It had been easier than she expected, especially with how good Matt was to her. Matt paid attention to her the way Tai never did. He tended to her the way Tai never would. He was the boyfriend Tai never was. Matt was… perfect.

Her flushed face paled.

What would he say to her? He'd hate her. He'd think she was disgusting. He'd break up with her. Tai had started it, but she hadn't stopped him, so Matt would—

Wait.

Her guilt vanished at a new insight.

He had initiated it. Tai had initiated it. _Tai_ had initiated it. She had just stood there, and he had come at her. Tai Kamiya, after so many years, had finally been attracted enough to her to try and k—

She slapped both her cheeks with her palms as hard as she could.

What was she thinking? Why was she even getting excited when she had a bloody boyfriend?!

_No_, she wasn't excited at all. She was mortified, and her heart was pounding this fast because she was now was faced with the enormous weight of having to tell Matt what had almost happened.

That was it, wasn't it?

She felt the side of her neck and face that Tai had touched, the area still tingling. Kissing Matt was nice, but it never felt like—

No, stop it. What on Earth was she thinking? She technically didn't _kiss_ Tai. In fact, maybe that wasn't what he was doing at all. Maybe she had something on her face, like an eyelash, and he was going to remove it for her. Or maybe he was still mental from the backlash of the soccer game, and he had entered into a trance, resulting in him leaning towards her unintentionally. Never mind that these were preposterous guesses. Stranger things had happened.

Furious with herself, she coarsely rubbed her forehead where his fringe had grazed, her nose that his had met, her cheek that his fingers had touched. She ruffled her hair and smeared her lips, hoping if she buffed them hard enough, it would be like it had never happened.

Yet, with her face now red, her hair tousled and her lips bruised, the spinning of her head, the beating of her heart and the lurching of her stomach showed no indication of change.

And as much as she scolded her mind to stop thinking such preposterous things, there was a lingering voice in her head that told her they were all reacting so ferociously because, secretly, she had wanted him too.

* * *

I feel like you guys were expecting his reconciliation with Sora to drag out. Hm, I can see where that comes from, but I've said/done worse to friends/family/boyfriends and still made up fairly quickly. Maybe the people around me and I just get over things easily.


	19. Chapter 19

**A Losing Game**

"_I have this theory that everybody should cheat at least once in their lives, just so they know what it feels like. If you feel bad, you're a good person. If you don't, you're an arse."_

_Tai rolled his eyes. "Don't try to justify yourself. You're an arse no matter which way you look at it."_

_Akita chuckled a little, though his laughter was hollow. "So you think I should tell her?"_

"_If I were you, I would."_

"_No, you wouldn't. You're only saying that because you're not in the situation. You're telling me that you'll tell Nanami__ if you cheat on her?"_

"_I'm not going to cheat on Nanami."_

"_Why not? She's the worst."_

_Tai shot his friend a glare, wondering how he even found it in him to joke around when he had just claimed he was miserable._

"_Why should I have to tell her anyway? It'd only hurt her, and Saturday night didn't mean anything. I don't even remember her name."_

_Tai shrugged, and Akita understood it to be a wordless indication that it didn't make it any better._

"_I love my girlfriend, you know."_

_He wondered how Akita could claim such a thing given what he did, but he didn't feel it was his place to judge him._

"_I'm sure you do."_

_Four months later, Tai was newly single, and Akita forced him to go on a double date with his girlfriend's friend. As if he feared the limits of Tai's rationality, he nervously admitted to him beforehand that he had never told his girlfriend about the thoughtless night he had spent with another girl._

_It was weird as he watched them all over each other, knowing that a simple revelation of truth would show them for what they really were. Her friend even gushed to him that Akita was the perfect boyfriend, to which Akita's girlfriend lovingly agreed. What surprised him the most was that Akita's expression showed no trace of shame or remorse as he accepted the compliment, even taking the opportunity to take a stab at Tai's shambled love life._

_It happened again at the start of their final year, when Akita bragged that Tai had never been in a relationship as long as he had. Annoyed, he pointed out that if Akita had done what he was supposed to do, his relationship with Nanami would have probably outlasted his. Akita looked at him blankly, not knowing what he was talking about. Tai elaborated._

"_Oh, I completely forgot about that." He shrugged and waved a nonchalant hand. "That doesn't count."_

_That was the end of that. It was as if Akita had forgiven himself and deleted the memory from his mind entirely._

_In that moment, he wondered if it really was that easy—if cheating and getting over it like it had never happened was as simple as Akita had made it out to be. Even though Tai had never been a fan of Akita's girlfriend, it seemed too cruel._

_One night at Davis', in an attempt to steer a conversation away from the "midnight ocean abyss" that was apparently Matt's eyes, he asked Davis' opinionated sister about it, keeping Akita's name anonymous. She angrily told him that it said a lot about his character if he could so shamelessly lie to his girlfriend and string her along. She yelled at him so much that he felt like he was the one who had wronged Akita's girlfriend, and he considered changing the topic back to Matt's dumb eyes just to get her off his back._

_Jun labelled Akita a monster, but when he looked at Akita, he couldn't see one. Laidback and generally well liked, it felt wrong that someone had defined his childhood friend based on one mistake. One hour out of seventeen years, according to Jun, was enough to brand him a no-good cheater for life._

_One thing was for certain. Nearly a year after what he did, Akita and his blissfully unaware girlfriend were still together, and Akita still couldn't remember that other girl's name._

**Chapter 19**

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck._

It was the only word racing through Tai's mind still as he closed the door to his room, his heart practically jumping out of his chest cavity as his mind replayed the scene that had just happened over and over again. Sora had come to talk to him, and he had stupidly let his willpower falter and had tried to kiss her.

He had tried to kiss Sora. His friend's girlfriend. _Matt's_ girlfriend.

_You dumbass fuck._

He groaned loudly as he flung his body on his bed. As if he wasn't already aware, it was yet another sign from the universe telling him what a piece of shit he was.

He was worse than a piece of shit.

Pieces of shit didn't make passes at their friend's girlfriends.

It was true that in the past several weeks, he had tried to convince himself that Matt wasn't his friend, but no amount of biased conviction could really lead him to believe he wasn't. Matt hadn't _really_ done anything to Tai to terminate their friendship, so he was still technically his friend—though maybe Matt would now have something to say about that.

"Fuuuuuuuuuck," he yelled into his pillow, muffling his voice for his sister's sake. She was probably home.

How the hell had he let that happen? She was giving him a moralising talk, something she had done a million times. She obviously didn't mean anything by it, so what on Earth had possessed him to suddenly try to kiss her?! Why, if he hadn't stopped himself, she would have cheated on Matt, and he'd be labelled the home-wrecking bastard who let it happen.

He sat up, realising something.

_He_ was the one who had stopped it. _He_ was the one who had pulled away. She hadn't even struggled, as he distinctively remembered her shutting her eyes invitingly.

As horrible as it was, a part of him wished he had just gone through with it. He should have just shut off his conscience and gone for it. Who cared about Matt?

No, that was wrong. Matt was his friend.

Ugh, but it was _Sora_!

Confused, he punched his pillow and threw his face in it once more. Maybe if he stayed like this long enough, time would rewind backwards and it'd be the beginning of the term again.

He heard a knock. He grunted, and the door to his room opened slightly. His sister stuck her head inside.

"Are you all right? I heard you groaning," Kari said, opening the door further and letting herself in. "Did you get hurt?"

"I'm fine," he assured, voice still muffled.

He didn't hear her leave, so he turned his head sideways, his right cheek pressed against his pillow as he looked miserably at his sister.

"Are you sure?" she asked, cocking her head sideways so that she was looking him straight on.

He shook his head. "Kari, your big brother is stupid."

She pursed her lips and furrowed her brows. "No, you aren't! Don't say that!"

He sighed and closed his eyes. At least he could always count on Kari to say nice things to him.

"I can leave if I'm bothering you."

He opened his eyes and sat up again. "No, don't go. I want you to stay."

For once, he meant it. Recently, he hadn't wanted to be in the presence of anyone but himself, but suddenly he didn't want to be alone. He was sure he'd have a mental breakdown.

Not that it'd be anything new. He hadn't realised it at the time, but apparently everyone thought he had had one in the past few days to weeks.

"Hey Kar?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I've been such a jerk lately."

She looked mildly surprised by his sudden apology, her eyes widening slightly before her lips curved into a smile. It wasn't until he saw how pleased she looked that he could understand how sad she must have been before.

"Forgive me?" he added with a sheepish grin.

She nodded happily, making him smile too. She was still a little kid in his eyes. In the presence of his sister's happiness, he momentarily forgot how he was supposed to hate himself.

"And I've been thinking," he continued, riding on his good mood high. "Since we're out of the tournament, we'll only be playing friendlies until soccer season's over. It'd be stupid for me to give it up now, right? Especially when I'm getting a free ride to Tokyo."

She looked ecstatic as she let out a high squeal, then practically leaped across the room to hug him.

It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of decision, but it felt right nevertheless. He had only quit two days ago, yet already he felt lost without his team. They defined him, and despite the negative qualms that came from devoting so much of his life to the sport, he couldn't ever convince himself he hated it.

Besides, what if he was giving up his spot at Tokyo to someone like Ichioka's Fukuda? He couldn't have that. Not that the bastard had the sort of skill to play at a collegiate level, but still. Fukuda had technically beaten him last weekend.

He felt a chilling fear run up his spine. Coach had warned him that his bad sportsmanship in Saturday's game could cause universities to withdraw their scholarship offers. Successful, established teams might not risk themselves for a rookie with a temper when there were more levelheaded players out there who were just as talented. So far, he hadn't heard from any of them that indicated such an extreme measure, but he hadn't officially accepted an offer yet. He was nervous they'd take it away once he did. He wouldn't mind getting the boot from Hitotsubashi, Tohoku and Kyoto, as long as Tokyo would take him.

He shook the thought away. He didn't want to think about that. He'd take it one step at a time, starting with re-joining his high school team. Coach would probably let him, unless he was so angry that he'd decapitate him instead. Frightened by the thought, he thought perhaps he'd wait until after exams to ask. Coach would have calmed down by then, and that'd give him the rest of the week to focus on his exams. He was sorry to say that a small, immature side of him also wanted his team members to be tortured by Coach for a little bit. Amongst them, Davis was still the only one who had spoken a word to him since his departure.

"Tai."

He looked down, not having realised Kari had been hugging him the entire time. Her excited expression was gone, as she was now looking up at him sadly as she pulled away.

"What's wrong?"

She looked so serious, frowning slightly with knitted eyebrows. "Can you tell me what TK did to you?"

Damn it.

He had completely forgotten that in his delirious state, he had forbidden Kari to talk to him. Normal siblings would dismiss it as crazy talk, but of course his poor, sweet sister had taken what he had said to heart. He had manipulated her, knowing she would listen to anything he said, no matter how ludicrous and unreasonable it sounded.

What kind of a brother was he?

"He didn't do anything," he said hurriedly, grasping her shoulders desperately. "I was just being crazy. Tell me you two are still friends."

"Kind of, but if he made you this upset, then maybe I don't want to be his friend either," she said tartly, crossing her arms. "I didn't talk to him today at school, and he definitely noticed. I'm sure he's thinking about what he did to you."

Her words horrified him. "No, Kari, no. He didn't do anything. I swear. Don't think like that."

"But you said—"

"I lied," he interrupted, scrambling out of bed. "Are you busy?"

"Well, I'm studying for an exam, but—"

The "but" was sufficient enough for him. He grabbed her hand. "We have to go to TK's right away."

She stared at him as he dragged her out of his room and towards the front door. "Why?"

He gave her a pair of her shoes before stuffing his feet in his trainers. "Because we have to apologise to him."

"Why?"

"Because he didn't do anything wrong."

She looked at him confusedly, and he watched impatiently as she put the shoes Tai had given her back down to pick up different ones. Maybe the ones he had chosen didn't match her outfit or something.

Kari definitely looked lost as he dragged her to TK's, but he was lost in his thoughts. He felt he had wronged an innocent person for his own selfish gain. He had already done one horrible thing today. The least he could do was salvage the wronged's brother's friendship with his sister.

Kari didn't struggle to keep Tai from pulling her along as he speed-walked to TK's, though she did seem bewildered. "I don't understand. You were so angry with him last night."

"I was being crazy. He didn't do anything."

"But obviously you wouldn't have gotten angry with him for no reason, would you? There must have been _something_."

Kari was trying to justify him. No matter what he did, she always tried to find the one reason that vindicated him. There wasn't an excuse this time though. He had done it because he could. He couldn't tell her the shameful truth, so he lied.

"I thought he did something, but it turned out I was wrong. It was just some guy who looked like him."

"Oh…" She frowned slightly. "Oh no. I was so horrible to him today."

"Exactly, so we have to apologise."

Instantly, Kari looked guilty too, and he no longer had to drag her as she sped up to keep on pace with him for the rest of the way there.

He rang TK's doorbell twice before Kari put a hand up to stop him from pressing the button again.

"TK's nice," Kari assured him gingerly, taking his impatience as anxiety. "He'll forgive us if we explain the situation, so don't be so nervous."

In fact his impatience was due to guilt, but he nodded anyway. He heard quiet footsteps on the other side of the door, before it opened and TK emerged.

"Kari," he exclaimed in surprise. "And Tai." He looked back and forth between the two of them, understandably looking puzzled by their sudden, unannounced visit. "Hey guys."

Kari smiled at him guiltily. "Are you busy?"

"No, no, of course not. Come on in." He quickly opened the door wider, though he still looked confused. He was probably waiting for them to explain what they were doing there.

"What were you doing?" Kari asked as she and Tai both walked inside.

"Well, I was studying, but Matt came over and…"

Tai stopped listening once his brain registered that he was in the same vicinity as Matt. What the hell did the world have against him? He felt the urge to turn around and run back home, but Kari pulled him forward as she listened to TK speak. When they reached his sitting room, Tai felt his body freeze as he came face-to-face with his older brother.

* * *

"What're you doing here?!"

Matt raised an eyebrow at Tai, turning off the telly as he stood up to greet TK's visitors. "I'm family."

Tai looked taken aback by Matt's response, as if he just realised that it wasn't strange that Matt was over. "Er, right… I thought… we were at Izzy's…"

Three pairs of eyes stared at him, so Tai looked awkwardly away at the direction of the kitchen. Though Matt thought it was weird, he let it go given Tai's recent behaviour.

"So," TK said, breaking the sudden silence to be hospitable, "do you guys want something to drink or eat?"

"Water," Tai nearly gasped immediately.

"No, thank you."

For some reason, Tai followed TK into the kitchen, leaving Matt by himself with Kari. She smiled sweetly at him as she walked to the coffee table to see what textbook TK had been reading.

He tried to determine whether the atmosphere was awkward or not. He knew that TK and Kari had some sort of fall-out, but his moody brother hadn't really told him anything other than to say that he didn't understand why Kari was so upset with him. Looking at Kari right now though, she certainly seemed fine. He wondered if TK was just being paranoid.

"Are you ready for English tomorrow?" Kari asked TK when he and Tai came back from the kitchen.

"I think so. Are you?"

She nodded, and he handed her a water bottle even though she hadn't asked for one. Tai, instead of coming to the couch area where the rest were, chose to lean against the corridor wall.

When Matt became aware that nobody was talking, he concluded that the atmosphere was indeed awkward. TK appeared nervous as he stole glances at Kari, Kari was looking around the room as if it were her first time seeing it and Tai was metres away from them. He now wished he hadn't turned off the television.

"I'm sorry," TK blurted suddenly. "Whatever I did, I'm really sorry. I know it makes it worse that I don't know what I'm apologising for, but—"

Kari silenced him to a gentle hand to his arm. "You didn't do anything wrong, TK. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Well, obviously I did something. I feel terrible, and I feel worse because I don't even know what I did to get you so upset with me."

"I'm not upset," Kari assured him. "I was just… stressed. You know, because of exams. I shouldn't have made it so obvious to you."

TK refuted that, then Kari refuted him, then the cycle kept repeating himself. His brother was usually a one-apology kind of guy, so it was unusual to see him apologising so profusely over what appeared to be a trivial misunderstanding.

Even more unusual, this was obviously a conversation he and Tai had no business being a part of, yet the two of them were just standing there, listening to their siblings apologise to each other for something he didn't quite understand. He looked at Tai to check his reaction, but Tai was staring at the younger ones as if he were watching a show.

"Neither of you should apologise," Tai declared suddenly. "It's my fault, so I'm the one who should be sorry."

What the hell was going on? Why was everyone apologising to one another? Was he supposed to be sorry for something too?

Looking at TK's face, however, he could tell his brother was just as confused.

"Let's talk in your room," Kari suggested to TK, as if she just now noticed that their brothers were able to hear their conversation. TK nodded to agree, and Matt saw the sheer panic that emerged in Tai's expression.

Overprotective brother mode. That was Matt's guess.

"They'll be fine," he assured once TK shut the door to his room. He sat back down on the couch and looked at his friend, expecting Tai to come closer so they weren't so nonsensically far apart.

Tai neither answered nor moved, looking stiff.

"So how have you been?" Matt asked to start a conversation. He wasn't the best at comforting people, but, aware that Tai was currently facing enormous backlash, he figured he could at least make an attempt.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, well, you know, er, fine," Tai stuttered. He took a drink of water and settled against the wall again, awkwardly distant from where Matt was seated. He managed to look both alert and distracted, his eyes darting anxiously around every corner of the room.

"Are you all right?"

"Of course I am," Tai answered sharply. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're acting jittery."

"No, I'm not." Tai straightened his back. "I'm fine."

Matt smirked. "The last time you said you were fine, you had a freak-out that ended up in you getting suspended."

"Well, this time I'm actually fine." Tai took another gulp of water, not noting the lightness in Matt's tone.

They fell silent, and Tai stretched his body towards TK's room.

"I wonder what they're talking about."

"Maybe they're making out," Matt offered dryly.

Tai twisted around to face Matt with a force so great he was surprised he didn't break his neck in the process. His face was bright red. "Why would they be doing that?! People don't do that, and I certainly wouldn't do that! They're only friends and it'd be wrong and weird and, and, yeah! They're probably just talking. Jesus, get your mind out of the gutter. What's wrong with you? That's your brother in there."

Matt raised an eyebrow at his dramatic reaction. Tai sure was bizarrely protective of his sister. To think he had once accused Matt of the same trait was laughable.

"I was joking. They're fine. Stop being so overprotective."

Tai's eyes widened, then he laughed awkwardly. "Ha ha, yeah! Exactly! You know me! Overprotective brother." He raised his voice. "TK, I'll kill you if you're touching Kari!"

"He's not. We're only talking," Kari answered back.

"Er, good." Tai looked at Matt for a fraction of a second. "Told you so." He turned away again, finishing his water. "I'm going to get another one. It sure is hot today."

Tai disappeared into the kitchen before Matt could answer, though there was no physical barrier separating the two from each other's sight.

He had to admit that he was more worried for Tai than he thought he'd be. Yesterday, when he heard Tai had quit the soccer team, he had gone out to look for him. He found him at the park, but he left because he got the impression that Tai didn't want to talk to him. So, instead, he sent TK. Tai was less hostile towards TK than he was with Matt, but it also meant TK never got to know him the way Matt had. All his brother reported back was that Tai had put up a wall when he approached him, though he did see Tai and Davis almost fight.

When Tai came back to the sitting room, he looked more composed, but it was quickly overshadowed by the quiet awkwardness that settled between the two of them. He and Tai were both trying to think of something to say, though nothing came out for a few minutes that seemed to stretch to eternity.

A short jingle cut through the silence. He reached into his pocket for his mobile.

"Who is it?" Tai asked, looking over curiously.

"Sora." He quickly typed a response before setting his mobile on the table. When he looked up, he saw that Tai looked frenzied.

"Oh, really? What did she want?"

"She has a tournament on Friday and asked if I can go."

Tai didn't look like he believed him. "That's it?"

Matt raised an eyebrow, not understanding why Tai was questioning him. "Yeah, what else would it be?"

"Nothing. It's just, erm… Yeah, actually, I don't know why I thought that was weird. Sorry."

Tai was acting suspicious. He wondered if it was because of the fight he had gotten into with Sora the other day. She had been too angry to share details, but she did say something about never talking to him again.

As much as he appreciated Sora for her attempt, he thought it was a little senseless that two friends were fighting so rashly over something that was, in his opinion, rather trivial.

Matt knew Tai wouldn't tell him anything about what was going on in that head of his, and he wasn't going to try and pry his way in either. Tai probably thought Matt wouldn't be able to understand him, and, honestly, there was a good chance he couldn't. Tai was his friend, but they rarely saw eye-to-eye. They were too different, so what was important to one meant nothing to the other. However, while soccer and popularity were two things he couldn't care less about, it didn't mean he thought Tai was being completely nonsensical. He just knew he couldn't help Tai in those two departments, as he had nothing to bring to the table. What he _could_ do was at least help make peace between him and Sora.

"You should go to her tournament too. They're pretty fun."

Tai looked shocked by the suggestion, backing up into the wall again. "Oh, ah, well, you know. I don't really like tennis."

"She makes it to all your games, you know," he pointed out flatly.

He had said it more as a statement than a threat, but Tai looked almost scared as he answered. "Er, you're right. Maybe I'll go. I might be busy though…" He started to crush his empty water bottle, the crinkling plastic making a distracting noise. "Have you talked to Sora recently?"

"Yeah, at school today."

"Not in the last hour or so?"

"No, I came here after band practice. Why?"

"Oh, just… She probably misses you… or something…"

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're okay? You're acting really odd."

Tai looked nervously around the room. "Yeah, of course I am. I just… I just can't stop thinking about your brother taking advantage of Kari."

Matt rolled his eyes. He should have known.

"Well then, let's go break them up," he suggested, silently apologising to his brother. As much as he would have liked to give TK time to reconcile his friendship with Kari, Tai was becoming a handful.

Tai entered TK's room without knocking, maybe expecting to find them doing something inappropriate. Instead, he found Kari sitting in the chair by TK's desk, TK standing an acceptable distance away from her. Tai used the excuse that they needed to be home in time for dinner to lure Kari out, and the two left. Matt noticed Tai did not actually say goodbye.

Tai was acting peculiar, even for himself. He was usually not so hostile towards boys around Kari, especially when they were people he personally knew like TK.

And, really, of all the people in the world, he was going to choose _TK_ to grow suspicious over? Matt couldn't understand him.

"So what are you going to make me for dinner?"

Matt lifted an eyebrow at his younger brother, who seemed rather chirpy for a person who had answered the door so glumly for him. "You're in a better mood."

TK played off Matt's observation with a shrug, sitting back down at the coffee table where his textbook was.

"You know, if you like her, you should make a move," he teased knowingly.

His brother didn't look up. "Says the guy who took a thousand years to ask out the girl he liked."

"And look what happened," Matt shot back.

"Besides, I don't like her," TK added stubbornly, pretending to read.

Matt didn't say anything, merely looking at the back of TK's head, waiting for him to turn around and see his doubting expression. TK wouldn't humour him, staring at his book.

Matt gave in first. "Well, in that case, Takashi from the band has a thing for her. You don't mind if I set them up, do you? Tai told me Kari likes guys like him."

He knew TK knew he was bluffing, but it worked anyway. He looked up and glared at him slightly. "You're funny."

He chuckled a little. "You know, I almost missed out on a chance with Sora because I thought she was falling for somebody else."

"Who? Tai?" TK joked, not knowing he had hit home.

"No, not Tai," Matt lied immediately, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. Matt told his brother a lot of things, but he hadn't told him about Sora's crush on Tai before their relationship had started. It was a piece of information that embarrassed him, even to share amongst family members.

"I'm just saying," Matt continued, trying not to think about it, "if you don't make your move soon, you may miss out on your chance. Kari's a good catch. It won't be long until she finds someone."

His brother looked unnerved. "Like who?"

"Davis?" Matt said, pointing out the obvious. When he said Davis' name however, the image of Tai came up instead.

The final push that had made him pursue Sora was an attempt to keep her from Tai. He could still remember the night he had first asked her out. Though he was never able to prove it, he guessed Sora said yes to a date with him due to a row she had with Tai.

It was a blow he still hadn't gotten over. He liked Sora a lot, but it still didn't change the fact that she had liked Tai first. Matt was determined not to have TK fall victim to the same situation.

There was a big difference between his feelings for Tai and TK's feelings for Davis, however. TK wasn't threatened by Davis the way Matt had been threatened by Tai, as evidenced by TK's scoff at his mention of his name.

There were other discrepancies in their situations. Perhaps he was biased, but he couldn't imagine Kari picking Davis over TK. Davis was the odd one out amongst the three of them, but it had been the opposite for Tai. As much as he didn't like to admit it, people had generally thought Tai and Sora were more compatible than he and Sora had been. The shocks on everyone's faces when they had announced their relationship were evidence enough. They hadn't been surprised because they were finally in a relationship. They were surprised because they didn't even know the two were close enough to where they could even harbour feelings in the first place.

Or, as Davis had so lyrically put it, "You two make such a random couple."

TK, in a rare display of clueless insensitivity, had even told him that he, Kari, Davis and Yolei thought it was a matter of time before Tai and Sora would date.

Arrogantly, he had pictured himself as having the upper hand in courting her. Life gave him a reality check, and he was quickly re-categorised as the underdog who had come out on top.

But with that logic, Tai was TK, and he was Davis, were they not? And since he had gotten the girl, wasn't that raising Davis' chances?

"Matt?"

TK leaned back against the sofa, apparently taking another break from his studying. Matt broke away from his thoughts to turn his attention to him.

"Kari and I aren't you and Sora, and Davis isn't Tai. You shouldn't compare us."

He hadn't said it aggressively, though there wasn't a hint of amusement either. His first instinct was to be offended, before he realised that TK was right. Subconsciously, he had been thinking exactly what his brother was accusing him of.

He had just watched judgmentally as Tai smothered his sister over a nonexistent threat, but he supposed he wasn't that different himself.

Life was humouring him, so he smirked a little.

"No, I guess not."

* * *

His sister was humming beside him, her tune uplifting him despite the guilt he felt for pulling her out of TK's so soon.

"Do you want ice cream?" he offered, wondering if that could make up for it.

Kari seemed to think his question over. "Won't we spoil our appetites for dinner?"

"Mom's cooking is going to spoil our appetites for dinner," Tai pointed out. "We might as well have one thing that tastes like actual food, shouldn't we?"

Kari giggled as she agreed, though she had in recent years admitted that she was not as repulsed by their mother's recipes as Tai was.

As they stood in line at the nearest ice cream shop, Kari excitedly picking out flavours, Tai thought a silent apology towards her. While he usually would be above using his sister, his saving grace had been being able to fall back on her as an excuse to leave. Everyone labelled him as an overprotective brother, so Matt had believed him when he said his anxiety had been due to his discomfort of TK and Kari being alone together.

In reality, the only thing that had made him uncomfortable about the two of them being in TK's room was the fact that he had been left alone with Matt. Being in his presence proved insufferable, and he was relieved to have finally gotten out. He couldn't believe how awkward he had been around him. He liked to think he was usually good at remaining collected in situations like that.

God, and when Sora messaged him? He was surprised he didn't die of a heart attack.

He wondered if she was going to tell Matt what had happened, because he sure as hell wasn't going to. He wanted to convince himself that he was feeling too guilty because, technically, nothing had happened. He had _almost_ kissed her, but he hadn't actually gone through with it. That had to count for something, didn't it?

Still, the intention had been there. He wondered if that was just as bad.

His conscience said yes.

He remembered what Izzy had told him the night before. If he was really their friend, he would be happy for Matt and Sora because he made her happy. By extension, surely it meant he wouldn't try to destroy them.

Only a few hours earlier, he had thought he'd do it in a heartbeat. If Sora showed interest in him, he would take her, and Matt would be left an unfortunate casualty. He thought Matt didn't mean anything to him, but obviously that wasn't true because something had stopped him from kissing her. It certainly wasn't her denying him.

He liked Sora very much, but the only way he could have her at the moment was to get in the way of her relationship with Matt. If an almost kiss made him feel this bad, how would a real one feel? Or if he had broken them up altogether?

He wanted her, but he didn't think he could take her at the cost of the guilt he would feel for his friend.

Hell, right now, he couldn't even think about how he was going to face her at school tomorrow. If he had acted so idiotically around Matt, who knew nothing, how would he act around Sora, who now probably knew everything?

* * *

I decided to split this chapter in two. To make up for the shorter length, I added a bit more Takari/Daikari since a few people seem to like them.

Akita is so handy. In the original draft of this, the person in that random blurb in the beginning was Joe, but I ultimately couldn't make him a cheater. He's such a nice guy that I thought it'd just be unbelievable, as opposed to merely shocking.

Thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to read this. Next update soon!


	20. Chapter 20

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 20**

Exam week had gone by painfully slow, and it wasn't necessarily due to the exams themselves. She and Tai shared too many classes, and being in the same room as him proved excruciating, even if they were just staring at a test the entire time.

The last three days were by far the most awkward of her life, so when Friday rolled around and school was let out for the summer holiday, she had been looking forward to not being forced to be around him. She even thought she could focus on her tennis tournament.

The thought turned to horror when Matt surprised her by bringing along their friends to watch her. Under normal circumstances, she would have loved their support, but seeing Tai standing at the back of the group made her want to run the opposite way.

She wasn't sure what he was doing here, as he too had spent the past few days avoiding her. The extent of their communication had been trying to say good morning to each other on Wednesday, but it had been too awkward and they didn't try again.

Even now, he had chosen to stand the farthest away from her, looking far more interested in a basket of chips he had brought than to wish her good luck like the others did. Though his neutral expression did not show it, she suspected he reciprocated her stance and didn't want to be present as much as she didn't.

"Ugh," came an annoyed voice.

Kaori Tanaka, one of the girls in Tennis Club and former Tai affectionado, was walking past them towards the court. Sora personally did not know the details of what had happened between her and Tai—just that he blew her off after their first date. Kaori had been upset about that, though the disgusted glare she gave him suggested she was perhaps over it.

"I think that girl hates you," Davis whispered loudly to Tai. He had meant it as a whisper anyway, but everyone, Kaori included, had heard due to his loud voice.

Tai mumbled something back that she didn't quite catch, while Kaori flipped around to give Davis a vicious glare too before storming off.

"She's mean," Kari said quietly, walking over to her brother.

"Way to make it awkward, Davis," Yolei hissed, giving his arm a jab.

"Way to bring attention to it, Yolei," Davis snapped back.

Even when he wasn't trying to be the centre of attention, he was still able to make life The Tai Show.

"We should get to our seats and let Sora get ready," TK suggested, easing the tension by turning the topic back to her.

Matt nodded in agreement, then turned to her to wish her a final good luck. He gave her a smile and a light squeeze to her hand, encouraging her to do her best. It was not an intimate moment, but she felt awkward anyway, and she hurriedly thanked him and the others before rushing to the courts.

She was ashamed to say she hadn't told him anything about what had happened between her and Tai. While at first she thought it was due to nerves, she convinced herself it was actually because the almost kiss hadn't meant a thing to either of them. It just so happened that in that one moment, an old feeling had reared its ugly head, but ultimately she knew Matt was the one she liked. Mentioning such an insignificant thing to him would only cause an enormous, unnecessary misunderstanding.

Besides, Tai himself hadn't been mentally stable at the time either.

The whole incident had been a fluke. Of this, she was absolutely certain.

* * *

She lost in the first round.

The girl she went up against wasn't much better than her—certainly beatable—but her concentration fell short, and she lost 6-0, 6-1. It was a horrendous score, an all-time low for her.

Feeling embarrassed that her friends had come to watch her get so ruthlessly annihilated, she walked slowly with her head down as she left the court to find them.

"You were great," Matt said as soon as she reached them.

She winced at his lie, though she let him put a comforting arm around her. It was a nice gesture, as he generally shied away from touching her in the presence of other people. She was sure he was doing it to make her feel better, and it did.

She glanced at Tai, who was now eating a slice of pizza. He caught her eye for a split second before biting down on his pizza again, acting like it hadn't happened.

She had a sudden urge to kiss Matt in front of him. She disapproved of public displays of affection, and Matt was even more private, but she felt she needed to show how well they were doing—at least in front of Tai, who may have been confused at where they stood. She didn't want him to have any misunderstandings.

She put a hand around Matt's head and brought him down to her height to kiss him. It caught him off guard, and he awkwardly stumbled as she smashed her lips against his.

"Thanks for coming," she murmured as she pulled away. She wanted to see Tai's reaction, but she didn't dare look. It was too risky. Instead, she kept her focus on Matt, who looked flushed and a little bewildered.

"I mean, don't mind us or anything. It's not like we didn't come," Davis said loudly before walking over to where Tai was. He was probably trying to get farther away from them, but Sora took the opportunity Davis had presented to glance at Tai. He didn't seem fazed by the kiss. In fact, he was smirking at Davis' comment.

She felt relieved, albeit a little embarrassed that she had to do that.

"This is exactly why you don't have a girlfriend, Davis!" Yolei scolded before turning to the couple. "I think they're super cute!"

Davis shot her a glare. "You don't have anyone either, Yolei."

Yolei turned red and was about to say something back, but Matt spoke first, his tone changed to something she couldn't quite read. "Let's go."

Behind him, Sora saw TK knit his brows at his brother, though he smiled pleasantly at her when he caught her eye.

* * *

He hated this.

Why had he come?

He and Sora were doing just fine not talking to each other, when Matt had to come along to guilt him into going to her tournament. Not only was it awkward enough to be around Sora, but he had run into Kaori. For weeks, she had left him desperate voicemails and messages in an attempt at getting a second chance with him.

After the look she gave him today, he was sure those calls would stop.

As far as his reputation was concerned, it had gotten somewhat better. Those who had never really cared about soccer no longer had a problem with him, though a large majority who had wanted to see the soccer team become champions still hated him. At least he could walk into rooms without twenty pairs of eyes staring at him anymore.

The only person who made him truly uncomfortable now was Sora. Since Tuesday, they had hardly said a word to each other. He felt oddly at peace about this, perhaps because it was a discussion he did not particularly want to have with her. Even now, when he saw Sora initiate a kiss with Matt, he did not react as angrily as he thought he would have. The thought used to enrage him, but seeing it today it hurt a lot less. Thankfully, Davis had saved any possible awkwardness he would have felt by opening his mouth.

He and Davis had returned to good terms after that night in the park soccer pitch. He was like his sister; he easily forgave Tai for his antics.

Izzy didn't seem to harbour any ill feelings towards him either, as he had voluntarily sat beside him today during Sora's short match. Still, because Izzy had said the most helpful things in comparison to the others, Tai felt the need to properly apologise to him. He just hadn't had the chance yet, as Izzy was a year below him, and both had been busy preparing for exams.

As the group was heading home, he broke away to talk with him.

Before he could even say anything, however, Izzy spoke first. "You look better."

Tai gave a small smile. "I am better."

"I heard you joined the team again."

News travelled fast, he decided, as it wasn't until that afternoon that he had asked to rejoin the team. Even though the school was generally disliking him at the moment, they sure did seem interested in everything he did. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. It was like he was put on display for the entertainment of the school.

He shrugged. "I want to. I asked Coach about it today, and he told me if I trained really hard during summer holiday, he'll think about it." He chuckled, remembering the hint of relief in Coach's voice when he had talked to him. "It basically means yes."

"That's good." Izzy warily raised an eyebrow. "What changed your mind?"

Tai grinned sheepishly, rubbing the side of his neck. "I got some sense knocked into me."

Izzy's eyes shifted to Sora for a moment before turning back to him. "I see."

"I meant you," Tai muttered dryly.

"I'm sure you did," Izzy said, clearly not believing him. "Well, in any case, I'm glad you aren't being completely unreasonable anymore."

"Yeah, er…" Tai looked up in embarrassment. "About that… Look, I'm sorry I freaked out at you. It was out of line."

Izzy nodded in acknowledgement. "It's fine. Everyone has those moments."

"Yeah, but my moment was prolonged… and insane."

"Don't wory about it." Izzy waved a hand to indicate all was forgiven before lowering his voice to change the subject. "You and Sora seem to be on good terms again too."

Tai looked up awkwardly again. "Er, yeah…"

Izzy grew suspicious due to his friend's tone, though he decided it wasn't his business to pry.

"So you aren't mental anymore?" he asked instead.

"I don't think so."

"Good." With a straight face, he added, "I thought I was going to have to beat you up for a second there."

Tai laughed. "Thank God it didn't have to come to that." Izzy seemed satisfied that Tai had found his joke funny. Tai continued, "Thanks for everything, and sorry I took away from your studying time."

"It's what friends do."

"How was your exam?"

Izzy chuckled dryly. "I got the second highest mark."

"I'm sorry you're getting your ass handed to you by some girl," he consoled in a serious voice, though he was smirking.

Izzy didn't seem to be offended, smirking too as he took another glance at Sora. "I guess we both are."

* * *

Sora watched as Tai shoved Izzy jokingly, though it was with enough force that Izzy stumbled a little. They then laughed.

It had been a while since she saw Tai like that. She wondered what they were talking about.

"Kissy kissy!" Davis teased immaturely as he bolted past them. TK, Kari and Yolei followed behind him, giving amused, apologetic and annoyed looks, respectively.

Sora looked nervously to Matt. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. I shouldn't have done it."

"It wasn't a big deal," he said uncomfortably.

She let out a small laugh, trying to make light of the situation. "I guess I just want everyone to know you're mine."

He gave her a slightly forced smile in return. She could tell he didn't like how she had done it, but he was only not saying anything because he didn't want to offend her.

She decided to change the subject. "Thanks for bringing everyone. I really appreciated it, and I'm sorry it had to be the one game where I get eliminated in the first round…"

"It doesn't matter when you got out. I'm still proud of you."

His words were meant to encourage her, but they brought an abrupt pang of guilt through her core. She wished he would just tell her she had been dreadful, so she wouldn't feel so guilty. She almost hated him for being so nice to her, because she knew she was horrible in comparison.

After what had happened with Tai, she had tried to make it up to Matt secretly by cooking him dinner, using the excuse that she wanted to relieve him from the stress of exams. He had been so thankful that it had only made her feel worse. In fact, she had cried once he left. It took six weeks and two days for Matt Ishida to finally make her cry, for a reason that was completely irrelevant to their relationship.

She had friends who had cheated on their boyfriends before, and she had always been quick to judge them. What a hypocrite she was.

She tried to shake the thought away. She didn't _technically_ cheat.

"Don't be upset," Matt said suddenly, looking at her pityingly as he stroked her back. "Everyone has off days."

Matt was mistaking her guilt for dejection about the match. It made her want to cry all over again, though a surprise flash went off, clearing her thoughts momentarily.

In front of them, Kari lowered her camera, having broken away from her mini-group.

"You two are so cute," she said excitedly, walking towards them to show the photograph she had taken.

The camera had caught them as Matt was whispering in her ear, his arm around her.

It made her feel sick that even though people would see this picture and think it showed how happy they were together, the reality was that she had been thinking about another man, standing just a few metres out of frame.

"Delete it," she demanded. "I look gross."

"I think you look pretty…" Kari looked at her picture woefully, though she ultimately abided to Sora's request. Though Sora never really cared how she appeared in pictures, she knew that was a legitimate excuse in the female language to get the taker to delete it.

"Do you want to see the photos I took during your match?"

Kari proceeded to show them every photograph she had taken. A photo of her and Davis that Sora was sure Davis made Kari take. Yolei posing, holding up a peace sign. Izzy being caught on his mobile instead of paying attention to the game. Tai eating a hamburger inelegantly, holding a hand up in an attempt to block Kari's shot.

Without realising, Sora smiled a little at the last one. It seemed he had given up on his diet. Good for him, though she couldn't help but notice he had substituted it for food of no nutritional value.

"And this one's funny," Kari commentated, showing them a shot of Matt and TK watching the game with identical expressions. "You two look like twins."

"Kari! Take a picture of me!"

The three turned their attention to Davis, who was walking on a stone wall, wobbling from being imbalanced. Tai was cracking up, while Izzy and Yolei look less amused. TK just watched, looking neutral about the situation.

Kari gasped, then ran to him, scolding, "Davis, that's so dangerous!"

Alone again, Matt took her by the hand, apparently uninterested in Davis' trick. "I liked Kari's picture of us."

A sudden crash spared her from responding to him. Davis had fallen, though he had managed to break his fall by landing on top of TK. They were now both on the ground, and soon everyone had crowded around him.

Davis rolled over off TK, groaning. "Oops… Ow… Sorry, TF…"

"It's fine…" TK grumbled, straining to get up as well.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Look what you did, idiot!"

"Does anything hurt?"

Tai pulled Davis up with a firm yank, while Matt helped TK in a gentler matter. After a bit of interrogation by the others, it was concluded that neither was seriously injured. TK had skinned his knees, while Davis his arms.

"You guys should put antiseptic on it so it doesn't get infected," Kari suggested, looking piteously at the two of them.

Davis took the opportunity to shamelessly ask for Kari's assistance, though Tai was quick to remind him that he had his own first aid kid at his home.

"You can come to my place," Matt told TK when he saw his brother was limping slightly. "It's closer."

TK nodded in agreement, though he rejected Matt's offer to help him walk. Sora noticed that if TK was annoyed at Davis, he didn't show it in his expression. She wondered if he was really that nice, or if his likeness to Matt was more uncanny than she realised.

Their walk took longer due to TK's slower strides, but soon they reached the point where they had to go their separate ways. Izzy and Yolei broke off first, with Davis following soon after.

"I'm going to walk Sora home," Matt told TK once they reached his flat.

"No!" Sora exclaimed immediately, horrified by the suggestion. "You should help your brother. He's hurt."

Matt looked at her unsurely, looking guilty.

"I'm fine. You can go," TK assured.

"Nonsense," Sora said firmly. "You're going to help TK."

"Besides, Tai and I can always walk her back!" Kari added in an attempt to be helpful.

Sora froze. She hadn't realised that with the absence of both Matt and TK, she'd be left with the Kamiya siblings. The thought made her sick, though she certainly wasn't going to take back her offer because of it.

"Matt, you should walk Sora back," Tai said, speaking for the first time since Davis broke from the group. "You're her boyfriend."

Matt looked annoyed by Tai's suggestion, but Sora stopped him from saying anything by speaking first.

"I'll be fine."

He looked at her worryingly before reluctantly conceding. "Fine. Make sure you call me when you get home."

She assured him that she would and debated whether she should kiss him good night as she always did. She chose against it when he didn't make a move either. With a few goodbyes, he and TK had entered his complex, and she was left alone with Tai and Kari.

Tai's comment to try to convince Matt to walk her home had been enough to confirm her suspicions that the almost kiss had made it so he didn't want to be around her either. Even though she already knew it to be true and she felt the same way, the truth was still a little disappointing for some reason.

Kari broke the silence with a yawn, seemingly unaware that she had sliced through the uncomfortable tension between the older two. "I'm so tired. I feel like I didn't get a chance to sleep at all this week with exams."

"Go to bed early," Tai suggested.

With that, the two siblings only talked to each other for the rest of the way, something that Sora greatly appreciated. It was when they were approaching their flat that Sora felt her nerves kick in again. Whenever the three of them walked home in this direction at night, Kari usually went up first while Tai walked Sora to her flat. She literally couldn't handle the prospect of being alone with Tai, even if it was for five minutes.

However, just as Kari was about to walk into the complex, Tai stopped her.

"Let's walk Sora home."

Kari looked confused for a second. She was sure Kari was just used to going in first out of habit.

"Okay," Kari agreed, suppressing another yawn.

Predictably, Tai looked guilty by it. "Actually, I'll just walk her back myself."

No.

"Are you sure?" Kari asked, looking uncertainly at him.

No!

He gave her a reassuring grin. "Yeah, it's no problem at all. Tell Mum I'll be right up for me, okay?"

_No!_

It was too late. Kari waved goodbye and went inside, leaving the two alone with each other. With Kari gone as the third person, the suffocating tension returned in a flash. She wanted to tell him that she would be fine walking by herself, but her voice eluded her.

"Well then, let's go," Tai said awkwardly, walking ahead first.

She followed him wordlessly. They walked a rather far distance away from each other, silent and looking straight ahead. To spectators, they probably looked like they had just had a row and didn't want to be near each other.

Half of that was true anyway.

The silence was too agonising. She had to say something.

"Thanks for coming."

"You played well."

They had spoken at the same time.

"I lost in the first round."

"You're welcome."

Again.

Tai cleared his throat to indicate he was going to talk. "You played well even though you lost."

"Thanks…"

They fell silent.

She couldn't stand it. This was even worse than when they were angry with each other. She was used to being angry at Tai, but she not used to being awkward around him. In fact, he was the one person she could always count on to not be awkward.

She wanted to sneak a look at him to see if he looked as uncomfortable as she felt, but she forced herself not to. If they made eye contact, she knew the awkwardness would only triple.

She almost just wanted to bring up what had happened earlier that week just for the sake of getting it over with. That was clearly at the source of all this, and maybe if they talked about it, everything would go back to normal.

Or maybe it'd just make everything worse—if that were even possible. It was difficult to imagine ever being able to feel more awkward than she did currently.

She kept debating with herself on whether to bring up the sensitive subject or not until she felt a physical force stop her from walking.

"We're here," Tai apparently repeated, quickly letting go of her arm and pointing to her building.

She had blanked out. Even if Tai had been trying to talk to her, she hadn't heard a thing, but she doubted he had said anything either.

"Oh…" She stepped away from him, even though he hadn't been that close to her. "Thanks for walking me."

"It wasn't a problem."

There was nothing more to it. She walked into her building without looking back, and she was sure he just turned around and went home too. It was the most unceremonious goodbye she had ever had, though she felt a wave of relief as the doors closed behind her.

* * *

It was after she had eaten, bathed and gotten ready for bed that Mimi rang her.

"Hello?"

"Are you on holiday yet? I swear, Japan terms let out way too late," Mimi whinged.

Sora laughed. "Yeah, we got off today actually."

"Finally!" Mimi cried dramatically. "Sora Takenouchi, are you ready for the news I'm about to tell you?"

Already guessing what her friend was going say, Sora felt herself getting excited too. "You're coming to Odaiba?"

"I'm going to Odaiba!"

The two girls proceeded to squeal animatedly, even though it wasn't really news. Mimi came to Japan every summer once the Japanese schools got off for holiday. She had been doing this every year since she first moved to the United States.

"Sora, may I please stay with you?"

This was asked out of courtesy rather than necessity. Mimi used to stay with extended family whenever her family came to town, but in the last couple years, her father had been too busy to take time off work. Now, she came alone and stayed with Sora.

It was because of these stays that she had become so close to Mimi. She used to look at her as a little sister figure, but now they were truly friends.

That being said, she felt guilty that she hadn't called Mimi in a few weeks.

"Of course you may!" Sora confirmed, making a mental note to ask her mother about it later. She was sure she'd say yes.

They squealed again before going right in to discussing details. She was to arrive in one week. Sora thought it was funny that Mimi didn't think to give her a more advance notice when the flight date was so close, but that was Mimi for you.

Instead, she apologised for coming a week later than usual. She had spent the past week on a camping trip with her ex-boyfriend, once again solidifying her hatred for both camping and her on-and-off, now-ex-but-soon-to-be-boyfriend-again ex-boyfriend. She was also leaving two weeks earlier than usual, because her parents had booked a three-week family beach trip to Croatia that Mimi complained she couldn't back out of.

Mimi was the only friend she had who would complain about having to go on holiday to Croatia.

Regardless, it was still a four-week stay.

"I wish I knew how to drive so I could pick you up," Sora moaned. "I still haven't learned."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I've got it all figured out!"

Sora usually went by tube to the airport, then Mimi would insist on taking an expensive cab ride back to Odaiba. She claimed the cost was worth not taking the tube, though Sora disagreed. Sora always thought Mimi's aversion to public transportation was ironic, given that Mimi lived in New York.

"I'm making Tai pick me up," Mimi elaborated.

Sora dropped her mobile, and it took her a second to remember to pick it back up. Mimi was talking, unaware that Sora hadn't heard the first part of what she said.

"—so I told him to be there by 07:45 AM. My flight is fourteen hours long, so I'm going to be grumpy if I have to wait there for a million hours! You know how I get. I also told him to get me a Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks. Oh, will you make sure it's soy for me? I can taste the difference, you know."

"_Tai's_ picking you up?" Sora sputtered.

"Yes. He didn't want to do it, but I won in the end," Mimi said proudly.

"I have a better idea. Why don't Matt and I pick you up?" Sora suggested, even though she wasn't sure if Matt had a driver's licence.

Mimi gasped. "No way! I don't want to be the third wheel!"

"You won't be!"

"Sora, I hate third wheels, so I refuse to be the third wheel for you."

"Mimi, I _promise_ you won't be the third wheel," Sora begged.

"Ugh, _fine_, I'll say it!" Mimi exclaimed dramatically, seemingly out of nowhere. "Sora, no offence, but your boyfriend's kind of a snooze."

She frowned, insulted for Matt.

"I'm sorry, Sora, but you know he doesn't like me—"

"That's not true," Sora refuted.

"Okay, fine. He doesn't _not_ like me, but I'm not his favourite either, so—"

"That's not true!"

Mimi sighed. "Look, I know he's your boyfriend and all, and I'm sure you two are super cute together, but do you know how many conversations I've had with him in the ten plus years we've known each other? One, and it was forced, and I was ten. That's not an exaggeration."

"Well, he told me that he likes you, so you're wrong."

Okay, so he had never explicitly said that, but it was a given. Before their relationship, Matt had rarely talked to her either. He was just reserved.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter. I just spent like twenty minutes convincing Tai to pick me up, so it's already been taken care of," Mimi said passive-aggressively, signifying that she was ending the discussion.

She was sure it meant nothing, but it occurred to Sora then that Mimi had told Tai about her arrival before her. She didn't know they were that close.

"So, speaking of those two, now that it's been a while, I guess I can finally say it…" Mimi paused for dramatic effect. "I cannot believe you liked Tai and went for Matt instead."

Sora dropped her mobile again. She snatched it off the floor and slammed it to her ear, not wanting to miss anything Mimi said this time around.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember when we had that emergency video session because you needed to find the perfect outfit to wear to impress Tai? You went from being _that _obsessed to being Matt's girlfriend!"

"I was not 'obsessed,'" Sora muttered. Just as Mimi was going to contest, she added, "Anyway, I don't want to talk about that, and please don't bring it up in front of Matt. He doesn't know."

Mimi giggled. "Fine, fine. So how are you and Matt anyway? Do you guys kiss and stuff?"

"We're in a relationship, Meems."

"Yeah, but I can't imagine you two kissing. _Eek!_ Will you do it once in front of me so I can see? I'm so curious!"

"Mimi!"

She giggled again. "It's not fair. I tell you everything about my boys, but you won't tell me anything about Matt."

In Sora's defence, Mimi told her those things without Sora asking.

"I mean, you told me everything about Tai!" Mimi added, as if she had read her mind. "And you weren't even dating him."

Why was Mimi bringing it up so much? She wanted to scream at her to stop.

"I'll tell you when you get here," Sora lied, trying to avoid talking about Tai and Matt altogether. "Meems, we're going to have so much fun!"

"I knooooooooow!"

They spent the rest of their conversation discussing places to shop and eat, until Mimi brought Tai's name up again. Sora then decided she was sleepy, promptly ending the call.

Even though she now had to spend next Friday with Tai in an hour-long car ride, this did not hinder her excitement. She could always coax Matt into going with them, after all. Mimi was coming to Japan for a month, and she couldn't be more excited.

* * *

Mimiiiii! My friend has a cat named Mimi, but we all call her Meems. I picture that cat every time I write down or read that nickname.

Anyway, that has nothing to do with anything. I know I've said this in nineteen different ways already, but thank you everyone so much for the lovely feedback.


	21. Chapter 21

So, the Mimi arc was a horrendous smorgasbord of utter chaos until now. I had all the events written out, but they were arbitrarily scrambled across six highly unorganised files that I couldn't be bothered to look over until the last minute. Now that I know what I'm writing, I've had to add five chapters to the overall fic, plus an optional side short story that I'm not sure I'll even be posting. I promise I'm not trying to drag this story out unto infinity, but I don't want to write chapters that are extortionately long either.

That being said, of course this chapter is extortionately long.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 21**

Sora decided Tai had been lying when he said he had a driver's licence. Nobody could have been stupid enough to pass him.

Beside her, Matt was looking out the window, one hand over his mouth, looking paler than usual. She stroked his arm to check if he was okay. He nodded slightly but didn't say anything.

"Damn it," Tai cursed as he slammed on the brakes.

Sora, Matt and Izzy all jerked forward, Matt hitting his head on the back of Izzy's seat in front of him.

"Sorry," Tai muttered.

"Where'd you learn how to drive, Tai?" Matt cracked finally.

"I just got my licence!" Tai protested irritably, turning around to glare at him. "If you're so great, why don't you do it?!"

Izzy gasped, and his eyes widened with fear as his hand gripped his seat tightly. "Tai, keep your eyes on the road!"

Tai immediately turned back around to face the motorway, though it didn't matter. They had hit traffic.

"Ugh, it would be like Mimi to make us pick her up during morning rush hour," Tai mumbled, allowing the car to jerk forward once more before the car stalled. He didn't even bother to start it up again since it wasn't like they were moving.

They had been on the road for about thirty minutes, but there was another half hour until they would reach Narita International Airport. With the addition of traffic, who knew how long it'd take? Though she wouldn't say it, Sora was annoyed that Tai opted not to take her advice to leave a half hour earlier than he wanted.

"I hope we have enough room for her luggage," Sora thought aloud, knowing her friend's tendency to overpack.

"She's only here for a month," Matt pointed out, lowering his window and taking in a deep breath.

He obviously didn't know Mimi very well.

"You obviously don't know Mimi very well," Tai said, echoing her thoughts. "She'll probably bring enough clothes to last her a year."

Izzy nodded. "Probably two years."

Sora giggled. "Come on. Mimi's impractical, not insane."

Tai grinned devilishly to Izzy. "So, I'm here because I know how to drive—"

"Hardly," Matt muttered so that Sora could only barely hear.

"—Sora's here because she's Mimi's friend and Matt's here because he's Sora's boyfriend," Tai smirked. "What made you so eager to come, Izzy?"

Izzy looked confused. "You're the one who asked me to come."

"Yeah, but you said yes."

Izzy wasn't following. "Was I supposed to say no?"

"Come on, admit it!" Tai teased, shoving his shoulder playfully. "You came because you think Mimi's cute, don't you?"

"W-what?" Izzy stuttered, his cheeks flushing. "What are you talking about?"

"It's not embarrassing," Tai assured, grinning to Matt in the rear-view mirror, who didn't smile back. "I'll admit it. Mimi's hot. She's like an eleven out of ten. Right, Sor?"

Sora didn't answer, instead feeling awkward that Tai had directed a question to her. She and Tai hadn't seen or spoken to each other since her tennis tournament a week ago. They had barely even discussed arrangements for this morning, the only form of communication a short SMS message he had sent her the night before to tell her the time he would be picking her up. She sent him a message back suggesting they depart thirty minutes earlier than what he suggested, to which he annoyingly did not respond. He then surprised her in the morning by bringing along Izzy, though she too surprised him by bringing Matt.

"She is pretty," Izzy admitted, "but that's not why I came. She's one of us."

"Yeah, yeah," Tai dismissed, waving a hand. "Matt, what would you rate Mimi on a scale of one to ten?"

"Pay attention to the road, Tai," Matt lectured, not even looking at him.

"Yes, ma'am," Tai sneered back, smirking. He made brief eye contact with Sora through the rear-view mirror, though he immediately looked away and prompted another topic of conversation with Izzy. He never once tried to include her or Matt in their discussion, which was fine with her. Obviously, it had been the point of him bringing Izzy along in the first place.

* * *

Mimi was as beautiful as ever, which Tai took upon himself to point out as soon as she ran to greet them with hugs. Sora noted that Mimi looked better after a fourteen-hour flight than she did in an hour and a half drive from Odaiba to Narita. She made a mental note to put more effort into her appearance while Mimi was here.

Excluding her handbag, Mimi brought three bags of luggage: two oversized ones she had checked in, and a smaller one she had used as her carry-on. Tai gave Izzy the carry-on, thinking he was doing him a favour.

"It's broken," Izzy pointed out as he pulled the lever to roll it.

"It's the stupid flight attendant's fault!" Mimi complained, stamping her foot. "You'll just have to carry it, but please be careful. It has all my most important essentials."

Izzy grunted as he struggled to lift the bag. "You sure do have a lot of essentials."

Mimi did not catch the sarcasm in his voice, instead gasping suddenly as they made their way to the exit.

"Where my Soy Skinny Vanilla Latte?" she demanded, grabbing the back of Tai's shirt to stop him from walking.

"Your what?"

"My Soy Skinny Vanilla Latte," she repeated curtly. "I told you to bring me one."

"I brought you a car," Tai answered pointedly.

"And I can assure you that I'm most appreciative. However, you did not bring me my Soy Skinny Vanilla Latte."

Beside her, Matt irritably set one of her enormous check-in luggages down, apparently tired of lugging it around.

Izzy too set Mimi's bag on the floor, muttering something under his breath. Sora winced piteously at him. While the check-in luggage Tai and Matt had were substantially larger in size than the carry-on Izzy had, Sora thought he still had the most daunting task considering he was unable to roll his.

"I told you a week ago that I wanted one, Tai. I reminded you of the same thing fourteen hours ago. I _want_ a Soy Skinny Vanilla Latte!"

"You'll live," Tai said coolly, earning him a menacing glare.

A minute later, the five were standing in the long Starbucks line at the airport, though Izzy eventually excused himself to stand to the side. Sora suspected it was because he couldn't stand picking her bag up so often, especially after Mimi berated him for trying to drag it across the floor.

After what seemed like eternity, they reached the front.

"One tall Skinny Vanilla Latte, please. Soy," Mimi ordered in a sweet voice. She looked to them. "Anybody else want anything?"

"That," Tai requested, pointing to a berry scone in the display.

"Actually, he'll get the almond croissant," Mimi corrected to the worker.

Tai frowned. "I want the scone, Mimi."

She didn't yield. "The croissant tastes better, I promise."

Tai looked slightly annoyed but did not protest further.

Sora, thirsty, picked up a bottle of water, which Mimi immediately snatched out of her hand to add to her order. She then asked for a Caramel Frappuccino.

"That'll be ¥825."

Mimi looked to Tai.

"What?"

"She said it's ¥825."

He stared at her. "You're making _me_ pay?"

"That's what you get for not having it when you said you'd have it!"

"Are you serious?!"

Mimi didn't respond with words, instead choosing to glare at him.

Then, to Sora's surprise, Tai grumpily reached into his back pocket for his wallet. Even though Mimi had essentially forced him to pay, he was agreeing to it with very little convincing done on her part. Even when they were on better terms, Tai rarely ever paid for Sora.

Once her drinks had been made, Mimi took them and pranced over to Izzy, holding out the Frappuccino to him. "Izzy, look what I bought you!"

Tai grumbled under his breath, looking unsatisfactorily at his croissant.

"Thanks for the water," Sora said to him.

He looked at her with an expression that implied he had just now noticed she was there beside him. "Er, yeah, no problem." He then walked away to join Mimi and Izzy.

She frowned as she opened her water bottle, then turned to offer some to Matt. He had not talked much all morning due to his carsickness and now, Sora guessed, his impatience. He was looking at his mobile, appearing quite irritated.

"We're about to leave now," she promised to uplift his mood, to which he immediately fixed his frown and insisted he was fine.

Sora looked back to the other three to see if they were ready. Tai was holding out his croissant for Mimi to take a bite, and she managed to tear most of it off, leaving him a tiny piece. He said something to her with a frown, to which she laughed, but it turned out his anger was feigned, as he ended up giving her the small, leftover piece too with a grin.

She felt a slight annoyance kick in. He was so nice to Mimi, in a way he had never been with her.

* * *

Mimi shrieked as Tai threw her suitcase with very little care into the boot of his car.

"Sorry," Tai said in a very unapologetic way.

Matt was more cautious when he loaded the bag he was carrying, then he held out an arm for Izzy's.

"It's heavy," Izzy warned, his forehead slightly damp from sweat.

"It's fine."

Izzy handed it to him, and Matt, underestimating the weight, nearly dropped it.

"Jesus Christ," Matt hissed. "What's in this thing?"

"Move aside, Matt. Let a real man handle this," Tai boasted. He took the other side and struggled too when Matt let go. "Mimi! What the hell?!"

"It has all the stuff that was making my check-in bags overweight," Mimi explained. "They don't check the weight of carry-ons as often."

"Why do you need so much crap? You're only here for four weeks," Tai growled.

"I already know how long I'm here for, but you two better not scratch that! It's Louis Vuitton!"

Tai scowled. "What the hell does that even mean?"

Mimi's expression mirrored his. "It means it's worth more than both of your lives combined, so _be careful_!"

Tai rolled his eyes, then he and Matt counted to three before lifting it high enough to put into the car.

"Aw, look how cute you two are," Mimi teased playfully. "Best of friends."

"Yup, that's us," Tai agreed, in a way that was to humour her. Slamming the door to the boot shut, he took the car keys from his pocket and walked towards the driver's side. Matt blocked him with an arm.

"I'll drive."

Sora looked at him curiously. She didn't know he knew how to drive.

"Do you even have a licence?" Tai challenged.

"Obviously I do if I just offered to drive."

"What if you wreck it?" Tai asked cautiously. "My dad will kill both of us if you do."

Matt snatched the keys from Tai's hand. "Believe me, if anybody's going to wreck this car, it's going to be you. I've never been that carsick in my life."

Tai looked offended but agreed, and Matt slid into the driver's seat.

"You can have front, Meems," Tai offered with a smile, opening the door for her.

Again. He was being so nice to her again. The uneasy feeling of aggravation returned once more, but Sora chose not to dwell on it. With Matt driving and Mimi in the passenger seat, it meant she and Tai would both be in the back. The only way to avoid sitting next to him was to have Izzy between them, but she didn't know how to ask him to have the uncomfortable middle spot without appearing rude.

"Izzy," Tai said loudly, interrupting her thoughts. He was standing beside the car, holding the left backseat door open. "You're younger than us, so you get the middle seat."

"Yeah, no problem," Izzy agreed with a shrug, not seeming to mind at all.

Sora let out a discreet sigh of relief, silently thanking Tai's authoritative nature. For some reason, it sounded much less rude when he said it.

With the seating arrangements assigned, they were off. Sora immediately noted that Matt was a much better driver than Tai.

"So, what do you want to do, Mimi?" Tai asked, leaning forward to hold the back of Mimi's headrest. "You're the guest, so we can do anything you want. You name it!"

She yawned, stretching her arms out in front of her. "I'm too tired to do anything. I just want to unpack and catch up with you guys."

He chuckled. "How surprising. And here I thought you'd force us to the shopping centre straight away."

She lowered the sun visor to check her appearance in the mirror, smirking. "Believe it or not, Tai Kamiya, my life isn't all about shopping."

"You're right," he quipped, talking to her through her reflection. "I don't believe you."

"Well then," she said, snapping the sun visor back in place. She turned her head to face him directly. "Maybe you should get to know me a little better."

* * *

He hadn't been in Sora's room for a long time, but the first thing he noticed when he stepped inside was that it remained largely unchanged.

Interestingly, there was the photograph of their old soccer team in her room, but none of just her and Matt. He was pleased by this observation.

Mimi had brought them gifts, individually wrapped in pink paper and decorated with heart stickers and lacy ribbons. The packaging was horrendous, though he had to admit the presents inside were thoughtful. Matt got a stack of rare vintage records. Izzy got memorabilia from Columbia University.

"A smartphone," he said flatly once he opened his own gift.

"Yes, so now you have no excuse not to call me!" she explained excitedly. "I'll show you all the best apps to download later, but they're probably already on there because it used to be my boyfriend's—well, I guess he's my ex-boyfriend now. The jerk. Anyway, he just got the new one that came out, so he gave that to me. It's a good thing I think the colour is ugly, because now it's yours! Aren't you happy?"

He was a little dumbfounded. Mimi had harassed him over his refusal to upgrade to a smartphone for years, but he didn't think it had _actually_ bothered her.

"You gave me your ex-boyfriend's phone so I could call you more often?"

"Yes, and that's a nice one too," she said, not catching the disbelief in his voice. "I hope it'll work in Japan…"

He thanked her for the gift, though he didn't think he would use it. Call him old-fashioned, but he liked his 2G mobile phone.

"And this is for you, Sora!"

Mimi pulled out a rather large box from one of her luggage bags and set it happily in front of Sora. The three boys, all curious due to the size of it, looked over as Sora opened it, only to be disappointed that it was just clothes and cosmetics. Sora, on the other hand, seemed to love it as she hugged Mimi. Mimi promptly began to explain everything that was in the box, speaking in a language none of the males could understand.

"And you simply _must_ try this mascara!" Mimi squealed, taking out a thin, silver box. "It's like the best mascara in the world, and you can't get it here in Japan. Plus, your eyelashes are kind of short, so you need the help!"

Tai felt that Mimi had somehow just insulted Sora, but she didn't seem to mind, instead thanking her. He also saw Matt frown at Mimi's comment.

Mimi then looked back into her luggage bag before closing it again, smiling mischievously. "Actually, I have one more thing for you. It's wicked, but I can't show you what it is in front of Tai and Izzy." She winked. "For your eyes only, Sora. Oh, and I guess Matt too if you two are far enough along your relationship."

Matt and Sora turned red. Tai and Izzy looked away awkwardly, both a little pink as well. Tai could feel anger and jealousy brewing with his embarrassment, and as much as he tried not to let it get to him, he couldn't.

He stood up.

"Well, this has been fun, but I have to get going."

"But I just got here," Mimi griped, looking at him wide-eyed.

He forced a grin. "And I'm very, very excited about it, but I have to train for soccer and work off that croissant I didn't actually get to eat. I'll see you tonight at your dinner, okay?"

Sora stood up as well and, for the first time in a week and a half, properly addressed him. "You're leaving to play soccer when Mimi just came to Japan for the first time in a _year_? Really, Tai?"

"Yes, really," he answered, ignoring the danger in her voice. "I'll see you guys tonight."

Under normal circumstances, Sora would have reprimanded him further, but given the fragile status of their relationship, she didn't. Instead, she turned her head to face Matt, most certainly to express her frustration to him.

Surprisingly, Mimi too did not scold him for leaving. "All right then. Bye!"

"Bye!" he copied with forced enthusiasm, catching her friendly wave with his hand and shaking it to make it appear his mood had not just turned bitter.

It was once he left the presence of his friends that he gave up on the effort, allowing his lips to fall into a frown.

He had never really thought about Matt and Sora getting intimate, preferring to put that thought aside entirely. Leave it to Mimi to put such a disturbing thing in his mind, and now that she had, he couldn't help but wonder. He told his mind to stop, but it started to calculate and reason without his permission anyway.

Matt and Sora had been dating for a little less than two months. If this were him, he would have tried to do something by now, but he didn't know if Matt would. He didn't think Matt had ever had a real girlfriend before, though that didn't really say anything. Matt had started dating before Tai had, and it wasn't like a girlfriend was required for experience in this day and age.

As for Sora, he knew her a lot better, but that wasn't saying much either. People acted differently around friends versus significant others. He couldn't ever remember a time when she was dating someone, and he liked to think she was conservative, but who the hell knew?

Oh God, what if they had—

No, he wasn't even going to think it. He told himself a week and a half ago that he was going to get over her, and this time he had meant it.

But just because he was going to get over her didn't mean he could stop himself from thinking that they'd eventually do the inevitable.

He shook his head to clear it. He wanted to stop thinking about it. How was he supposed to stop thinking about it?

As if answering him, his mobile went off. It was an SMS from Izzy.

_You shouldn't have left like that. You aren't getting any brownie points from Sora._

He put his mobile back in his pocket, not bothering to answer. He and Sora were already awkward. It wasn't like a couple of brownie points were going to save him this time.

* * *

Sora glanced at the time.

"Mimi," she said again. "We're going to be late. You look fine."

Mimi didn't look up from Sora's vanity, twisting another lock of already-curled hair into her curling iron. "Just a couple more minutes."

Across the room, Matt looked irritated. Sora winced as she walked over to him, and he replaced his annoyed expression with a normal one. He reached out to put an arm over her shoulder.

"Gross, you two. Nobody wants to see that," Mimi said playfully, watching them from the reflection of the mirror.

Matt withdrew his arm and put it back to his side.

Mimi smirked at him. "I was joking. Touch away."

"We're going to be late," he repeated.

She continued to curl her hair. "If you're so bored, why don't you read a book or something?"

Sora looked up at her boyfriend to see if he was offended, but his expression showed no change. He caught her eye and gave her a small smile. She smiled back.

"Done!" Mimi announced happily ten minutes later, standing up from Sora's vanity.

"Finally," Sora heard Matt mutter under his breath before saying, "All right, let's go—"

Mimi interrupted him with a dismayed gasp.

"Sora, you aren't planning to go to my dinner looking like _that_, are you?!"

Sora blinked, confused. She was wearing the dress Mimi had brought her from the United States. Her jewellery had been Mimi-approved from an earlier shopping trip. Her shoes were borrowed from Mimi's collection, even though they were a painful size too small. Her hair had been styled by Mimi herself an hour prior.

What on Earth was she gasping about now?

"Sora, Sora, Sora," Mimi repeated, shaking her head. "You have such a pretty face. Why don't you just _enhance_ it with a little bit of makeup? Believe me, everyone looks better with makeup on. Even me!" Mimi closed one eye to show off a shimmery pink eyeshadow she had dusted over her lid. "See how pretty that is when it catches the light? I could do it for you too."

"We don't have ti—"

Sora quieted Matt with a touch to his arm. "But Mimi, I am wearing makeup."

Mimi looked shocked, then stepped forward to more carefully examine Sora's face. A little mascara, a bit of blusher, the tiniest hint of gloss.

"Oh, you're right," Mimi confirmed, stepping back with a smile. "Wow, Sora! You're so good at pulling off that natural, cavewoman chic look! I couldn't even tell you had any makeup on! Well then, I'm just going to run to the toilet really quickly, and then we can go!"

Matt turned to her once Mimi left the room, a disturbed expression on his face.

"What the hel—ck was that?"

"What was helck was what?" Sora teased.

"_That_," he said, pointing at the direction Mimi had gone. "I can't believe you just let her talk to you like that. She was practically insulting you in front of your face. What kind of a friend does that?"

She smiled, rubbing his arms to calm him down. "Matt, don't worry about it. That's just how Mimi is. She wasn't trying to be rude."

"'_Cavewoman_ chic'?"

She found him cute for getting offended over something that isn't a big deal and leaned up to give him a peck on his lips. "Don't let it bother you. She means well."

* * *

He, Sora and Mimi were on their way to Mimi's welcome dinner, and while she had been in Japan for only half a day, already had already managed to annoy the living hell out of him. He tried not to make it obvious, though it was becoming progressively more difficult.

"My feet hurt."

Half the time, she repeated this in a myriad of variations. Why she wore high heels when she knew they were going to be walking to the restaurant was beyond him. It wasn't like he was complaining about the walk, and he was the one who had been assigned to carry all her unnecessary gifts for the others. Though he would have offered anyway, it irked her that she had volunteered him for the job.

She had also senselessly taken the liberty to stand right between him and Sora, essentially kicking him out of their conversation. Sora had noticed this too, but she was too nice to say anything, and he didn't want to upset Sora by being the one to point it out either.

All he could do was listen, but it was more like he was hearing noise. She talked so much. He would have thought that after a fourteen-hour flight, she would be too jetlagged to do anything. He thought wrong, as she had spent the last twelve hours updating them on every aspect of her life, right down to all the insignificant details. He knew those stories would be repeated at dinner, succumbing him to listen to them twice. He wasn't sure how Sora would survive the next four weeks living with Mimi, because there wasn't enough money in the world for him to ever submit himself to such torture.

No, that was mean. Mimi was still his friend, even though she could get annoying. He decided he could only handle her in small doses, and that twelve straight hours with her was definitely exceeding that limit.

"You've gotten so pretty, Sora!"

It grew to the point that he found every menial thing to get annoyed with, like a child who got grumpy due to lack of sleep or food. The way she worded things bothered him. Sora had 'gotten' pretty, as if she was implying that Sora had not been pretty before.

Behind Mimi's innocent features, he couldn't help but think there was a calculating, manipulative person.

Sora modestly shook her head. "No way, Meems!"

"What are you talking about? You get _so_ many guys! First Matt here, then T—oops." She smiled tightly at the two of them. "Never mind."

There it was again.

Sora apparently hadn't caught onto it, as she laughed it off. "Mimi, I get zero guys, and you of all people should know that."

Mimi smirked. "Well, at least you were able to nab Matt here."

Sora smiled at him, but he wasn't paying attention. There had been a hint of something he didn't like in the way she had said that, though he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Tai's coming tonight, right?" Mimi asked suddenly.

"He should. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I just really want to make sure he's there." She winked at Sora. "He's really hot, isn't he?"

Why was Mimi asking such a thing to his girlfriend when he was right there?

Sora shifted uncomfortably. "Er, I don't know if I'd say that."

"Why? It's not like you've never thought it."

Sora gave her a glaring look, to which Mimi looked ahead innocently.

He couldn't believe it.

Mimi was trying to drop a hint. Not even that. She was spelling it out for him, reminding him again that Sora once had feelings for Tai—as if he didn't already know. But why? Surely, she was not dense enough to say it just for the hell of it.

"It's a shame really. I think he likes someone."

Sora looked at her with sudden interest. "Really? Tai does? Who?"

Mimi smirked. "Well, I don't know for certain, but if I'm right, she's closer than you'd think."

"Tell me," Sora said, looking far too concerned for Matt's liking.

"Goodness, Sora, don't act so interested in front of your boyfriend! Look how jealous he's getting!"

Mimi giggled, and he felt his face grow hot in embarrassment. Sora instantly turned to face him, and he forced a smile, shaking his head good-naturedly to indicate he was not jealous, praying that he looked convincing.

She came over to him and put her arms around his torso, practically hugging him as they walked, though she did not change the subject as he would have liked her to. "I'm not interested. Tai likes lots of girls."

"I don't know, this one's pretty good," Mimi continued, twirling her finger around her hair. "It's too bad though, because if I'm right, you're the one person I can't tell."

Sora laughed. "Well, whoever it is, I'm sure he'll change his mind about her in a week."

Mimi shrugged. "I doubt it."

The two then began to talk about how hungry they were, and what they planned on ordering once they got to the restaurant.

While Sora had thought nothing of Mimi's words, he couldn't help but linger in thought. It was the way she had said it.

'_You're the one person I can't tell,'_ she had said.

He didn't like the diction she used or the tone in which she had said it.

"We're heeeere!" Mimi cried when they finally reached the restaurant, grabbing Sora and pulling her away from him. "Let's go! I'm starving!"

"Wait a second," he spoke up. He smiled to his girlfriend. "Let me talk to Mimi for a second." Sora looked confused, so he promised, "We'll be right in."

"Yeah, go ahead," Mimi agreed, not looking puzzled by his request in the slightest as she ushered Sora inside with her hands. Once Sora had gone, she turned around to face him, smiling still.

"Matty, I didn't know you liked talking to me." She had said it pleasantly, though there was a trace of sarcasm attached to it.

Not one to beat around the bush, he got straight to it. "What are you trying to pull?"

"What do you mean?" Her eyes widened, resembling a young doe caught in the headlights.

He narrowed his eyes at her, knowing she was only faking her ignorance.

"Cut the act, Mimi. I'm serious."

She flipped a lock of her hair back, still maintaining her innocent stance. "I can assure you I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, but I don't think Sora would like it very much if she found out you were interrogating me. After all," she smiled tightly at him, "we haven't seen each other in a year."

His glare intensified. "Well, whatever you're doing, stop it. I mean it."

She twirled another lock of hair between her fingers. "Oh, Matty. You crack me up."

She began to laugh, her laughter fake and condescending. What the hell was so funny?

She stopped when he didn't say anything, smirking again. "You must really not want Sora to see you for who you are. Why not?"

He felt fury spark within him, but he didn't open his mouth, afraid he would say something he'd later regret.

"You try so hard to act cool and tough, but we both know you're just a big old hothead." She reached up as if she was going to ruffle his hair, but he blocked her hand with his wrist. She smirked and brought her hand to her hair once more. "She can't hear you out here. If I'm annoying you, you can say it."

"You're annoying me."

She laughed again, successfully annoying him further. "That's much better. Now, if only you can act this real in front of her."

Not following her, he only glared.

"There's no reason for you to put up a fake image and act differently for Sora's sake. You're a good guy. I bet Sora would agree too, if only she could meet him."

She brushed past him to walk inside, but he stepped in front of her to stop her.

"What are you trying to do?" he demanded quietly. She was so conniving. It amazed him that he had never noticed it before.

"I'm _trying_ to go inside. If you'll excuse me."

Without waiting for his reaction, she took the bag around his wrist and went into the restaurant. From the other side of the glass, he saw her run to greet everyone with a lively smile plastered on her face, not a single trace of evidence that she had just had a not-so-friendly altercation with him outside.

His expression read the direct opposite of hers. She always did this. After an absence of a year, she would come back and roam around as if nothing had changed, that nobody would have moved on with their lives without her. She always talked about how much she had grown up, but he could never see it. She was still just as selfish, just as spoiled, just as sheltered as she had always been. Even now, she had the audacity to scrutinise his relationship and try to teach him a lesson, as if those were things that were perfectly okay. If anything, the United States had made her even more ill-mannered than before. He thought she was irritating and dumb, and she of all people couldn't read anyone.

In any case, she certainly couldn't read him, when she didn't even know him at all.

* * *

Sora saved Matt and Mimi seats on opposite sides of her, but she noticed that Mimi walked in first without him. Instantly, the others who had not yet seen her rose up to greet her, and she excitedly rushed to give everyone their gifts, pulling them out of the bag she had brought and explaining each one.

It was during this time that Matt slipped in and slid into the seat beside her. She wondered what he had to talk to Mimi about, but she didn't ask. He smiled pleasantly to her.

It took a moment for everyone to settle back down, but soon they were all seated once again, an empty spot between Izzy and Mimi.

"Where's Tai?" Mimi asked, looking around.

"He just got out of practice and wanted to shower first. He'll be here soon," Kari explained.

As if on cue, the door opened, and Tai walked inside, dressed significantly more casually compared to the others.

"Ew, Tai!" Mimi cried as he approached them with a wave. "You're all wet!"

"I know," he said apologetically, taking the remaining seat beside her. "I didn't have time to dry my hair."

"Ugh, that is the worst fashion faux pas if I have ever seen one!" She glared at him. "Really, Tai, it's better to be fashionably late than to come to my event looking like an absolute slob!"

"I'll remember that for next time," he said indifferently, picking up the menu. "Has everyone ordered?"

"Not yet—"

"And your clothes!" Mimi continued, picking up the sleeve of his t-shirt between her forefinger and thumb. "I can't believe you came here wearing this! In case you didn't get the memo, this is a posh restaurant!"

"They let me in, didn't they?"

She scowled. "Maybe they didn't see you."

He rolled his eyes and stood up. "That's it. Davis, switch seats with me."

Davis hesitated and looked woefully at Kari, who sat in the seat beside him. "But…"

"I'm just kidding, silly!" Mimi exclaimed, pulling him back down with a tug to the arm. He smirked at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"So tell us about your fab life, Mimi!" Yolei chirped.

With that, everyone began to fill each other in about their lives, pausing only to order their food. Sora found catching up interesting, as it gave her the opportunity to learn things she didn't know about her friends she couldn't see as much. Joe, for example, had an internship for the summer, in which he was testing a new chemo drug by injecting it into mice.

"Essentially, my job is drawing blood samples from behind their eyes at certain intervals to determine whether the drug is effective or whether it's toxic," Joe explained.

"Why behind the eyes?" Yolei asked curiously.

"They have an easily accessible artery back there."

"Gross," Mimi said under her breath. "I thought you cringed at the sight of blood, Joe."

"Med school kind of whips that out of you," he said with a shrug. "I mean, I gagged the first day because I saw a headless mouse, but now it isn't so bad."

"Did you know labs often use scissors to cut the heads off mice for experimentation?" Izzy offered.

"Gross," Mimi said again.

"I think our lab uses miniature guillotines," Joe alleged.

"Guillotines!" Yolei exclaimed in surprise.

Ken nodded. "It's more humane if you think about it. I bet it's more accurate than a person's hand with pair of scissors."

"Thank goodness I wasn't assigned to do any of that," Joe said, sounding relieved. "I don't know if I can stomach killing a live mouse by chopping its head off with a pair of scissors or operating some sort of rodent guillotine."

"Yeah, I'd rather draw blood samples too," Yolei agreed with a nod. "How nervewracking though. What if you accidentally miss and poke its eye out?"

"That's disgusting. You guys are making me completely lose my appetite, and I haven't gotten my food yet," Davis muttered.

"I think that's so sad," Kari said.

"_So_ sad," Davis agreed instantly, turning to her with a tragic frown. "Those poor little mice!"

"We have to follow regulations to ensure we minimise their stress," Joe assured.

Kari shook her head piteously. "How much can you minimise the stress of getting your head chopped off or having a needle get poked into your eyeball?"

"Well, actually, the orbital sinus is behind the eye, so we have to remove the eyeball from the socket first," Joe corrected to Kari's horror. He quickly added, "Don't worry! They're anesthetised, so they're usually asleep. They don't feel it unless they wake up."

"They wake up?!" Kari cried.

"Ew, that's so gross! Can we please change the subject?!" Mimi shrieked. She turned to Izzy. "Izzy, why don't you tell me about your girl?"

Sora, as well as everyone else, instantly turned to face him, who looked confused. "What girl?"

"That girl you told me about over the phone a while back! Remember? The one from your childhood?" She turned to the others. "Isn't Izzy so cute? He called me for girl advice."

Yolei squealed, and Tai choked on his water. As if by instinct, Mimi began to tap his back repeatedly with her fist, though her focus remained on Izzy for an answer.

"I didn't know you had a crush, Izzy," Sora said, giggling.

"Er, I don't." Izzy nervously cleared his throat. "It didn't work out."

Mimi withdrew her hand from Tai's back, bringing it with her other as she pulled a pitying face. "Oh no, why not?"

He reached for his glass, staring at it. "Er, it turned out she had a boyfriend."

"Oh dear…" Sora shook her head comfortingly. "That's okay, Izzy. I'm sure there's someone better for you out there."

Mimi, on the other hand, scoffed. "_That's_ why you gave up? That shouldn't have deterred you."

"Mimi, don't say that," Sora scolded her friend lightly.

"You can always find an upgrade," she said unwaveringly. Sora disapproved of her friend's opinion, but didn't say anything. Mimi then turned to Tai. "What about you? Are you courting anyone?"

Tai didn't look her in the eye, rubbing at his own that had turned red from coughing. "Er, no, I'm not."

She smirked. "Still just you and soccer, huh?"

Sora felt a wave of tension set over the table. She had not yet told Mimi about Tai's recent troubles, and she doubted anyone else had either.

"Yeah, it gets really romantic," Tai joked, loosening everyone's nerves.

"No girls?"

"Nope."

She smiled. "Good."

She then moved on to ask Cody to tell her about his life, but Sora found herself not listening. There was something about the way Mimi had said "good" that was a little too cheeky.

Soon, they went from having one large conversation to several smaller ones. Kari with TK and Davis paying careful attention on either side of her. An uneasy Ken and an overenthusiastic Yolei. Cody listening as Joe and Izzy once again discussed the various methods of killing lab mice.

And then there was Tai and Mimi.

"You know, Tai," Mimi said lowly, drawing closer to him. "I change my mind. I kind of like your hair like that. It's sexy."

She reached to touch it, and Tai backed up a little in surprise.

"Er, thanks," he said cautiously.

She retreated her hand but smiled at him. "You're welcome."

He smiled back awkwardly.

"Mimi!" Yolei cried from a few seats away. Ken had apparently joined Davis' conversation, so she spoke over the quieter Cody, Joe and Izzy, bringing their attention over to her and Mimi as well. "What are you guys talking about?"

Mimi put an arm around Tai's head suddenly, fingers sliding through his damp hair. "Just how sexy Tai looks right now. Wouldn't you agree, Yolei?"

He turned to her, looking at her alarmed with widened eyes. Kari, who had overheard, turned her attention to them too, which drew TK and Davis to look over as well. Tai quickly peeled Mimi's arm off him.

Yolei stiffened and looked around awkwardly as Mimi waited patiently for an answer. "Er… yeah, sure… I guess…"

"I bet you get all the girls," Mimi continued, turning to look at him once more.

He frowned, muttering lowly, "Stop it."

"You do, don't you?" She giggled, smacking his arm rather hard. "You're so _modest_!"

"Stop it," Tai hissed again.

Sora felt Matt tap her on the arm, and she turned to him, not having realised she had not been paying attention to him.

"Food's here," he told her, not acknowledging Mimi's antics.

"Yay," she said with a tight smile. "I'm starving."

He didn't return her attempt at appearing attentive, eyes hollow as he emptily said, "Yeah, me too."

Once the waitress had given everyone their food, Mimi's giggle drew Sora's attention to her right once more. She was holding her fork up to Tai's mouth.

"Try some," Mimi cooed. "It's really good."

"Er… I'm all right."

"Come on. I don't have cooties."

Tai glanced around to see if the others were watching, so Sora pretended to look past them to the pianist playing in the corner. When she looked back, she saw Tai taking some of Mimi's salad with his own fork, rejecting hers.

"It's good," he confirmed with a grin. Mimi giggled at his reply, even though he hadn't said anything remotely entertaining.

It escalated from there.

As the dinner progressed, they became more and more flirtatious, Tai eventually loosening up to Mimi's advances. Sora noticed that Mimi kept touching him whenever she could, and he began to smile every time. She grew annoyed, especially because he was so obviously loving the attention she was giving him.

By the time they had finished their entrées, everyone had begun noticing, giving curious, confused glances their way. It was Kari's wide-eyed look that seemed to bring Tai back to Earth, as he made a conscious effort to talk only to Izzy after that. Mimi let him be, until the waitress set down their dessert menus.

"Let's split something," Mimi suggested to him, taking him by his arm to get his attention.

Tai looked to Mimi, then over to his right, then back to her again. "You know, I bet Joe would split a dessert with you."

"Sure," Joe agreed with a shrug, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I'm not one for desserts anyway."

Mimi didn't falter, smiling sweetly at Tai. "But I'd rather split one with you."

Mimi was blatantly flirting with Tai, and it made everyone feel uncomfortable. Well, Sora couldn't be sure if _every_ person was uncomfortable, but she certainly was. Why, even she and Matt didn't do that, and they were _actually_ dating.

"Please?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

Tai seemed to think it over before he sighed. "Fine, but I get to pick."

His answer seemed to satisfy her. "Of course. Order whatever you want, darling."

He went for the treacle tart, while she and Matt decided to share a chocolate cake as per their tradition. She did notice recently that Matt never really took more than two bites though.

"Here. Say 'ahhhh.'"

Mimi had picked up a piece of the tart with a generous helping of clotted cream, and she was holding it against Tai's mouth.

Tai put his hand around Mimi's wrist to stop her. "Meems, can I talk to you in private for a sec?"

"We'll have time for that later," Mimi dismissed, stuffing the contents of her spoon in his mouth. She smiled and leaned closer to him. "How is it? Good?"

He mumbled something indecipherable with his mouth full, and Mimi giggled as she dotted his lips with her napkin. He pulled away, still protesting.

"Why are you two flirting with each other?" Davis asked loudly, finally asking what the others had been thinking.

Tai quickly swallowed his food and hissed, "We aren't flirting."

"We're flirting a little," Mimi disagreed, looking unfazed by Davis' comment.

"We aren't flirting," Tai repeated sternly, shooting Mimi a look.

She shrugged, then took a bite of their tart.

"Well, whatever it is, it's grossing the rest of us out," Davis retorted, once again mirroring the thoughts of the others. "Go get a room or something."

Kari gasped. "Davis!"

"Er…" Davis struggled to save himself, though he ultimately couldn't and had to resort to apologising for his comment.

Sora didn't care about Davis' slip-up, however. She couldn't peel her eyes off Tai and Mimi as she continued to try and feed him, to which he would protest and only succeed about half the time. The other half, treacle tart would end up on his face, Mimi giggling as she wiped it away.

"Don't you want this?" Matt asked dully, pushing their cake to her. He hadn't taken a bite either.

"Not really," Sora said quietly, turning to him. "I guess I ate too much for dinner."

Matt nodded in acknowledgement and turned to offer it to someone else. Behind her, she heard an exasperated "Mimi!" followed by more girly giggling. With each protest and each giggle, she found her patience grow thinner and thinner, until she eventually couldn't wait to go home.

When their bill finally came, she noticed that Tai paid for Mimi's dinner along with Kari's, though she had missed whether that was due to Mimi's insistence or his own voluntary action. Secretly, she hoped for the former.

Their antics continued as the group went out of the restaurant to end their reunion.

"Tai, why don't you walk me home?" Mimi suggested, slipping an arm around his, which he immediately peeled off. "I don't really remember my way around here anymore."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Mimi, you're staying with me. We can just walk home together."

"Nonsense," she said dismissively, waving a hand. "I've been the third wheel all day." She turned to Tai again. "What do you say?"

"Er," Tai shifted awkwardly. "I should walk Kari."

"TK can do that," Mimi said immediately, and she turned to smile to the younger blond. "Right, TK?"

"_I_ can do it," Davis offered loudly before TK could answer. "You live in the opposite direction anyway."

"So it's settled then," Mimi concluded. "Davis walks Kari home, and Tai will walk me." She smiled as she raised his arm up over her head, ready to lead him away. "Come on, Tai. Let's go exploring first. If you're lucky, I'll let you buy me a coffee."

* * *

Tai was, in a word, confused. He walked back to the table Mimi had picked out in the café, setting their drinks down on the table.

Mimi smirked amusedly at him. "You know, when you wouldn't let me pick my own dessert, I thought you'd make a horrible boyfriend, but I'll forgive you since you bought me coffee."

He frowned. "Obviously, I would have let you pick your dessert if you were my girlfriend, but seeing as you aren't and I _knew_ you'd make me pay for it—"

She silenced him with a glare, then replaced her menacing look with a sweet one once more. "I don't actually drink coffee, by the way. It'll stunt my growth, and I really want to be 165 cm."

"You had coffee this morning," he pointed out, rolling his eyes. "Don't you remember your stupid soymilk latte whatever?"

She ignored him. "You should have gotten me hot chocolate, but thank you anyway."

She reached over and gave him a pinch on the cheek.

"Mimi, what the hell?" he asked darkly, rubbing his cheek. "Why are you all over me all of the sudden?"

She smirked. "You're cute, Tai. You think I'm cute too, don't you? That's why you agreed to come here."

He frowned. "I only agreed to come here to tell you not to do it anymore."

"You don't find me attractive?"

It would have been a lie to say no. Mimi was easily one of the prettiest girls he knew, but the fact he had known her since she was a ten-year-old spoiled brat—and that she had no distinguishable hobby aside from shopping—really cancelled out any sort of physical attraction he had towards her.

"You're okay," he compromised.

She looked offended and stuck out her lower lip in a pout as she always did when something did not go her way, her thin brows pointed downwards to show her dissatisfaction at his comment.

She was older and less extreme now, but he learned long ago that the fastest way to ruin Mimi Tachikawa's mood was to disagree with her.

"It was a joke," he added to appease her sudden sour mood. "You're very pretty, Meems."

"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "As if I had any sort of interest in _you_. You aren't my type at all! I like really hot, really smart, really tall, really—"

Ugh. It was his own fault. He should have known better than to provoke her.

"—really sensitive, really successful, really—"

"I get it. So what's your deal?"

His asperity brought a smug expression to her face. "I'm testing something."

He narrowed his eyes. "And what would that be?"

"I don't know. I thought it'd be fun to see how people would react to us. After all," she smirked, "I did miss out on the great reaction for Matt and Sora."

He darkened, twirling his spoon in his cappuccino, watching as the cocoa powder mixed with the froth. "There was no reaction. They started dating. That was it."

She laughed, reaching for her café Viennois, even though she just said she wouldn't drink it. "It's such a shame, you know."

"What is?"

"You and her. Her and him."

Her words caught his attention, and he briefly remembered when Mimi had rang him all those weeks ago, urging him to go for Sora. He remembered his reaction too. Terror, as he thought he would have to reject her because he had thought at the time that he could never see her as anything more than a friend.

How stupid he had been.

"Who was the girl you were talking about? The one from over the phone?"

Mimi smirked knowingly at his seemingly random question, as if she had been expecting it. "Obviously you know. You're just asking me because you want me to say it. You want to hear it because you know you've lost her, right?"

He chose to avoid answering by drinking his cappuccino. He wasn't really one for coffee either, but he had paid for it.

It was extraordinary. She hadn't even been here for an entire day, yet she had already managed to make him pay for her coffee, her croissant that did not look nearly as delicious as the berry scone, Sora's water, _Izzy's_ coffee that he ended up not drinking, her dinner and another bloody coffee. He would have paused to admire her capabilities if it weren't for the fact that he was so annoyed by the waste of his limited funds.

She sighed suddenly, and when he looked over to her, he saw she was frowning.

"You know what makes me really sad?"

"My hair?" Tai guessed dully, setting down his drink.

"Your hair," Mimi answered at the same time. Her frown deepened. "If you know it bothers me, why don't you do something about it?"

"I really don't care what you think of my hair, Meems."

"Well, you should. It's hideous!"

"You're hideous."

Her jaw dropped, looking histrionically offended for something that was obviously not meant seriously. "Excuse you, Tai!"

Her reaction made him grin. "I'm just kidding. You look very nice."

"Of course I do. I look better than you anyway," she snapped.

Tai laughed. Mimi had her moments, but he thought she was quite endearing. As conceited as she was, she never meant any ill will.

At least, he didn't think she did.

"Well then, since I am so utterly beneath you, I hope it means you'll stop making passes at me."

She leaned into her seat and played with her hair again, something he noticed she did a lot. "Maybe. It depends."

"Depends on what?"

"I can't tell you. It's too early, and you'll ruin the experiment."

He rolled his eyes. "What, are you going to scissor my neck off too? I'll tell you now that I'd prefer the guillotine."

She smirked. "I'll keep that in mind."

He finished the rest of his drink, then took out his mobile to check the time. "We should head back."

She seized him by his wrist, glaring at the device in his hand. "Why aren't you using the smartphone I gave you?! In case nobody taught you, it's rude not to use gifts that people give you!"

"You mean like how you took your ex's gift and gave it to me?" he asked flatly.

"That doesn't count!"

"I'll use it later," he lied.

She huffed as she crossed her arms across her chest, but he stood up to indicate he had meant it when he said he wanted to leave.

"Why so soon?" Mimi asked, apparently forgetting that she was angry with him. "Do you have somewhere to go?"

"Yes, my bed."

She looked disappointed. "But it's so early. Do you have somewhere to be tomorrow?"

"No, I'm just knackered." He put his right arm to his left shoulder and massaged it to attest his point.

She frowned. "Tai, I just travelled halfway across the world. _I'm_ knackered, not you."

"Then you should go to bed too," he concluded. "Come on, get up."

She didn't move. "But I didn't even finish my coffee."

He took her hand and pulled her out of her seat with little effort. "Well, it's a good thing you don't drink coffee then, isn't it?"

* * *

She spread her arms wide when he dropped her off at Sora's.

"This is how Americans say goodbye," she explained, moving her hands to signal him to hug her.

"I'm not American," he said dryly.

She instantly scowled, crossing her arms across her chest. "You are so rude, Tai Kamiya."

He grinned, amused that she was so easily offended. "Good night then."

"Bye," she huffed haughtily before she began marching away.

He chuckled and called after her. "If you want a hug that badly, I'll give you one."

She turned around to glare at him. "No, I don't want one, especially from you!"

"Come on, I'll give you one!" He followed her up the steps to give her a friendly hug from behind. She shrieked dramatically, and he laughed as he let go. "I missed having you around, Meems."

She turned around, looking significantly happier. She was so easy to please.

"Really? What did you miss about me?"

"How pretty you are," he joked, grinning.

She slapped his arm.

He rubbed at his arm though it hadn't really hurt. "It's a _compliment_."

"It isn't when you aren't being serious!" she snapped, though he could tell from her expression that she hadn't hated his answer.

"Go inside," Tai told her, feigning a yawn to give her a hint.

"Fine, fine. I'm going. Ugh, so rude."

He grinned. "Good night, Meems."

"Good night." She walked up the remainder of the steps leading to the entrance of the complex, then turned to him once more. "You know, you may not be my type, but Sora was right about you. You grew up nicely."

She reached down to give him a pat on his head, like an owner would do to a pet, then disappeared inside.

It was with gestures like this that Tai could see how much she had changed—how westernised she had become. Mimi no longer treated him with the respect one would give a person who was older, and while he was never one to be strict with such idiosyncrasies himself, it did take some getting used to when Mimi had first disregarded it. He let it slide with her because she was obviously submerged in a culture that did not always mesh with his own.

That, and he couldn't be bothered to get caught up in cultural protocol when the last thing Mimi had said struck a chord.

"_Sora was right about you. You grew up nicely."_

He had tried hard in the last week and a half not to think about her and what could have been, but just this once he allowed himself to wonder if Sora had said those words about him before or after she started her relationship with Matt. And just this once, he let himself be pleased by the implication.

* * *

It wasn't like she had been counting the minutes or anything, but it had been well over an hour since she got back from dinner that Mimi finally came home.

"Where did you guys go?" Sora asked, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Oh, nowhere." She giggled, going to her side of the wardrobe to pick out something more comfortable to wear for bed. "Tai has gotten really handsome, hasn't he?"

Sora felt her face grow warm. She was already flustered by Mimi's obvious flirting with Tai for essentially the entirety of their dinner, and her giddiness was only exacerbating the issue. There was one question on her mind, but she didn't know how to tactfully ask.

So, she disregarded tact altogether and blurted out, "Do you like Tai?"

Mimi giggled again. "I don't know. You don't mind, do you? Now that you're with Matt…"

"No, of course not. I just…" Sora tried not to frown. "He's clueless, you know. He probably won't pick up on anything."

Mimi smirked as she changed into what Sora thought looked awfully impractical for clothing that was meant for sleeping. "Sora, please. You know me. I'm not subtle about anything." She winked. "Besides, I'm only in town for a month. It's just a bit of fun while I'm here. It's not like I'm going to marry him."

"Right," Sora played off.

"Well then, I'm going to take a bath!" Mimi announced before leaving the room again for the bathroom.

For some reason, it bothered Sora immensely that Mimi was showing interest in Tai, even though she knew it shouldn't. She told herself it was because she couldn't casually date the way Tai and Mimi could. Tai once said that casual relationships were the best relationships, while Mimi was constantly updating her on new boys she would "date" while on break from her on-and-off boyfriend. Being with someone with no strings attached wasn't Sora's style, so in her opinion, what they would be doing if Tai bit the line—and she knew he would—would be unacceptable.

Inside, she knew it was a bogus excuse. In reality, she couldn't stand the thought of Tai and Mimi together because it was Mimi and it was Tai. Even if it would mean nothing to either one of them, there wasn't a single thing about the two of them together that was okay with her.

That Tai Kamiya. She could slap him for being so easy. Not that it mattered anymore, but evidently she had wasted her time trying to get to know him as a person in the years she spent having a crush on him. All she had to bloody do was shamelessly flirt with him in front of the world like Mimi did.

What bothered her most, however, was that Mimi _knew_ she had once liked him. It hadn't even been that long ago, yet she had waited less than a day of arriving in Japan to have her target set on him. She didn't want to think that Mimi was a bad friend, but a part of her couldn't believe Mimi couldn't see that she was treading on dangerous ground. Wasn't there some unwritten girl code that frowned upon this sort of thing?

She told herself she was being unreasonable. Even if such code existed, surely it only extended to exes, and Tai was not her ex-boyfriend. Not even close.

Still, she couldn't help but think that Mimi was playing with a fine line, and it was difficult for her to believe that Mimi was completely oblivious to that fact.

* * *

Okay, let me just be the worst Taiora fan ever and say that in the past year or so, Michi has really grown on me. I know, the betrayal and horror! It's just that with Sora, I can only see her with Tai, but with Mimi, I think she is compatible with every guy in the first season. I'm not too much of a traitor, however, as I can only enjoy Michi fics provided that Sora has absolutely no role in the story.

I'm not completely sure if I made Mimi in character, but I did need a conniving person, so she was it. I think I went a bit heavy with the filler dialogue, but believe it or not, I took a large part of pointless drabble out before I uploaded this, haha. I think it's so obvious which chapters were written back in 2008-2009 because they're always full of them.


	22. Chapter 22

Thank you for the feedback, everyone! After reading the reviews for the last chapter, I decided to rewrite Chapters 22 and 23 and consolidate them into one. The original Chapter 22 was, in my opinion, fun but full of unnecessary filler scenes. It took longer than expected, which is why this update is coming so late. More on that later.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 22**

It was a delectable scent wafting into her room that hauled Sora out of bed. To her surprise, the person responsible for the aroma was not her mother but Mimi. Sora found her cheerily cooking in the kitchen, various food items spread out across the kitchen counters.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Mimi greeted once she noticed Sora had come out. "I made an American breakfast! Toast, eggs, bacon, pancakes and freshly-squeezed orange juice!"

Sora looked at the extravagant amount of food Mimi had made in wonder. Mimi was the kind of person who barely ate half her food before declaring she was stuffed beyond all reason. While Sora could eat more than her, she certainly couldn't eat enough as the small family for whom Mimi had seemingly made breakfast.

And now that she thought about it, Mimi struck her as the last person who would wake up so early in the morning just to cook.

"Help yourself to anything you want," Mimi chirped, picking up a saucepan from the stove. She brought it over to a pink tin on the counter and began to scrape eggs into it. She then did the same with the bacon.

"What's that for?" Sora asked curiously.

Mimi started to draw a heart on a pancake with syrup, looking deep in concentration. "I'm bringing this to Tai."

Sora froze at her words, whatever sleep still in her dissipating in an instant. "Wait, you made all this for Tai?"

"Of course not, silly. I made it for Tai, you, your mum and me," Mimi answered, not catching the shock in Sora's tone. She finished drawing her heart, then dusted powdered sugar on top. After she finished removing the excess sugar, she held it up for Sora to see. "What do you think? Isn't it cute?"

No, in fact, it wasn't. She thought it was cheesy and something Tai wouldn't like at all, but she told Mimi was cute anyway. Satisfied, Mimi set it in the container too before closing it up and wrapping it with a pink silk scarf. After she tied the scarf in a pretty bow, she took off her apron and took the packed breakfast in her hands.

"Well, I'm off to Tai's! He's expecting me, so I don't want to be too late. Help yourself to the food! I'll be back in an hour or so, and then can go get our hair cut!"

With that, Mimi dashed out of the kitchen and out the front door, leaving Sora behind to stand in awe. It took a few seconds for her to come out of her stunned state and another few to accept that Mimi had actually left. She could still remember how much Mimi had teased her when she had first admitted to her about her past feelings for Tai, yet now it was her who was latching onto him.

Surely nothing would happen. Tai had pretty much rejected her because she was too much of a friend, and that would probably apply to Mimi as well.

She felt a little bit of paranoia kick in.

Perhaps not. Tai was not nearly as close to Mimi as he was to her, and with her girly personality, he didn't see her as one of the guys the way he saw Sora. Not to mention that Tai liked to point out how pretty Mimi was every chance he got.

She agreed that Mimi was beautiful—way more beautiful than her—but it almost made her angry that Tai thought it. Jealous, no. Annoyed, yes. Why? Because every single girl Tai had ever shown interest in had been pretty. It didn't matter if she was crazy or stupid or mean or wrong for him in every way, as long as she was pretty, Tai overlooked everything else. It used to drive her mad, even if Tai vehemently denied being shallow.

And, so, since Mimi was pretty, perhaps he'd overlook the fact that they were only supposed to be friends and go for her too. She knew Mimi's flirty personality—and boy did she know Tai's. Maybe, just maybe something would happen between them.

She envisioned it for a moment and felt a little something odd, but she told herself to forget about it. Despite her disapproval, she had no business in what Tai and Mimi may choose to do.

Still, it did not stop her from hoping that Tai wouldn't return Mimi's feelings. Perhaps this made her a bad friend to Mimi, but she didn't think she could handle anything happening between those too, no matter how casual.

* * *

Mostly asleep, he heard his window curtains be withdrawn before the bright sunlight burst through his room, blinding him though his eyes were shut. He let out an unappreciative grunt, then moved his pillow from underneath his head to over it in an attempt to block out the sun's rays.

"I'm sleeping, Mum," he grumbled grumpily, his voice at its usual morning coarseness.

His mother slapped his back, and he grunted again.

"You're such a lazy bum, Tai Kamiya. Wake up already."

His eyes shot open at the sound of the voice that was too high and young to be his mother's. Lowering his pillow from his head, he let out a surprised yell as he came face-to-face with Mimi, standing over his bed, staring down at him.

He instinctively pulled his duvet over him, even though he was fully clothed. "Mimi, what the hell?!"

"What, have you never had a girl in your room before?" she taunted condescendingly. "Your mum let me in. She's really nice." She looked around his room. "You know, you're a lot tidier that I thought you'd be. I was expecting this place to be filthy. I brought hand sanitiser and everything."

He let go of his grip on his duvet, then shut his eyes as they still had not adjusted to the light. "Get the hell out of my room."

She slapped his back again.

"Please," he added grouchily.

She instead sat at the foot of his bed. "Come on, Tai, get up. It's morning!"

"It's a Saturday," he countered even as he sat up, knowing Mimi would not let him go back to sleep. He rubbed his hands through his messy hair, looking around hazily for the time.

"Ew."

The "ew" was probably directed at his morning appearance, but he didn't care what he looked like.

"Why are you here?" he asked, also not caring that he was coming across as rude.

"Because I want to play," she said chirpily.

He scowled. "Aren't you staying at Sora's? Play with her."

She smirked, her eyes twinkling as she drew closer to him.

"What?" he asked uncomfortably, subconsciously leaning back.

"You like Sora, don't you?"

Taken aback by the sudden question, he stuttered as he tried to contest her, probably only coming across as a bumbling idiot. Her smirk grew wider.

"You're so obvious about it," she said, cutting him off midsentence. "If you don't want people to know, the least you could do is be more discreet."

"I don't like her," he tried in vain once he collected himself.

"Oh, really?" She gave him a disbelieving look, haughty smile in place. "When I called you last week about picking me up, you changed the topic every time I brought up Sora's name. Yesterday, you two didn't say a single word to each other. Tell me, were those just coincidences?"

"Yes," he answered shamelessly.

She laughed, clearly seeing right through him. "Fine, you don't have to admit it to me, but I'll tell you what. Since I'm such a great friend, I'll help you out a little."

"I don't want your help. I want to go back to sleep."

"You sure?" she asked teasingly, grabbing his arm to keep him upright as he attempted to lie down again. "I have some _pret-ty_ interesting things to tell you. Sora and I did a lot of catching up last night."

He stiffened as he realised what she was doing. He sat up again, narrowing his eyes. "Stop trying to manipulate me, Meems. I'm not that interested."

"Oh, and I may or may not have told her that I have a thing for you."

"You told her _what_?"

If she heard the alarm in his voice, she didn't show it. "Don't you want to know her reaction?"

"Why the _hell_ would you say that to her?"

"Because it's fun." She giggled. "Don't try to deny it. I can read your face, Tai Kamiya. You're dying to know how she reacted, aren't you?"

Okay, he was. "Dying to know" was possibly an understatement, especially given that he still hadn't had a proper conversation with Sora since their little incident, but he wasn't going to admit that to Mimi.

"Why are you interfering with our lives anyway?"

"Because you're rubbish at it."

He frowned. "Rubbish at what?"

"_Life_," Mimi stressed seriously, putting a hand to his shoulder. "Don't worry, Tai. I'm here to help."

He swatted her hand away. "Believe it or not, I've lived the majority of my life without your 'help.'"

"Yes, and look where that's gotten you," she sneered. "Anyway, be nice to me because I even brought you this." She stood up from his bed to pick up a wrapped package from his desk that he hadn't even noticed was there. "I'm sure it's all soggy by now, but it's breakfast."

She set it on his lap, and he unwrapped the pink scarf to reveal a large, equally pink tin. Surprised, he opened it, then frowned upon seeing the pancake on top.

"What the heck is this?" he asked, pointing at the frosted heart design.

"Don't take everything so seriously," she snapped. "I did that to see Sora's reaction."

He asked before he had a chance to reconsider. "And what was her reaction?"

She brightened at his question, though she unsurprisingly did not let him off the hook. "I thought you didn't care."

"I don't," he said nonchalantly, using the matching pink fork Mimi had included to stab the heart in its centre, ripping off a piece of the pancake.

"You're welcome."

"Thank you," he said obediently, amused by her passive-aggressiveness.

She frowned. "No manners, as always. Also, you should brush your teeth first before you eat."

"I'll do it in a minute," he said dismissively, too lazy to go to the other side of the world just to wash.

He took a bite and was surprised to find out that she had any sort of cooking skills. She struck him as the kind of person who wouldn't enter a kitchen unless absolutely necessary. While she at first appeared pleased that he was enjoying what she had prepared, by the time he had reached the last few bites of his meal, she looked repulsed.

"Ew, the amount of food you eat is so disgusting," she scolded, even though she was the one who had brought him so much. "Haven't you ever heard of portion control?"

"I'm trying to bulk up because I recently went under my goal weight," Tai explained dolefully. "I don't get it. I eat and eat, but I don't gain anything. Damn genes."

"Wow, Tai, I just feel so sorry for you. Honestly, your life is so hard." Mimi rolled her eyes. "I wish I had that problem."

He smirked. "If you want to lose weight, you should work out a little."

Already knowing that his comment would warrant physical retaliation, he put his arms up in defence as Mimi lunged towards his head. "EXCUSE YOU, TAI!" She grew pink with anger as she chose to hit the side of his rib instead. "I'll have you know that all the girls back in New York wish they could have this body!"

He couldn't help himself.

"Why? Are they blind?"

He dodged another flailing arm only to be hit even harder on the back of his head.

"All right!" he protested, holding the back of his head. "I was only kidding. Jesus, take a joke."

"Don't ever joke about a woman's body, Tai Kamiya!"

"You're not a woman, Mimi. You're a little girl, and sh!" he hissed. "My parents are home, and they're going to think I'm some sort of pervert if you say things like that."

"I hope they do."

He laughed, finding it funny that she got offended. "All right, all right. I'm very sorry."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Whatever, I hate you, but I'll forgive you because I'm so nice."

He grinned, putting the empty tin back on the table. "Your kindness knows no bounds, Mimi."

Mimi then forced him to wash, claiming that she couldn't stand to see him look so unkempt a second longer. When he returned, she was seated at his desk, going through his desk drawers.

"I mean, feel free to go through all my stuff without my permission," he said sarcastically, sitting down on his bed.

Mimi looked up, smiling sheepishly. "I was looking for evidence. Why? Do you have anything to hide?"

"Evidence of what?" he asked, choosing to ignore her question.

"Of your unrequited feelings for Sora, of course. Do you keep a diary or something?"

"Yeah, it's right there, next to all my makeup."

She frowned at him. "You don't have to be so rude, Tai."

"_You're_ the one going through _my_ stuff," he cried incredulously.

Her sheepish grin returned. "Well, you weren't supposed to catch me. That's okay though. I'll just get it straight from the source." She swivelled in his chair so that she was facing him. "Tell me, Tai. Tell me how you feel knowing the love of your life once had deep, passionate feelings for you, but you were so thick that she upgraded to Matt Ishida."

She was only trying to be funny, but he was not amused. "I hate you."

She smirked smugly at him.

"I hate you," he repeated for good measure, half meaning it. "This is all your fault, you know. I was living my life perfectly fine until you came along and had to ruin everything!"

Her smarmy attitude disappeared, her pretty face tainted with that look of fury she got whenever things didn't go her way. "Wrong answer, Tai Kamiya. Try again."

He wasn't completely sure why he was allowing her to talk to him this way because he was older and she wasn't even his girlfriend, but he obediently apologised to her anyway.

"Oh, Tai, don't be mad at me," she cooed innocently, her mood returning to normal. "In fact, if you play your cards right, I might even help you get her back."

He wasn't supposed to be interested. He had already tried that before, and anybody from his school could tell her how that had worked out. He was trying to get over Sora, and the last thing he needed was the influence of a certain Mimi Tachikawa.

But still, he couldn't help it.

"Yeah? How do you plan on doing that?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm pretty sure she isn't completely over you."

"Really?" he said almost immediately, forgetting to keep his cool. "What makes you say that?"

She smirked. "How could you not notice? She couldn't stop staring at us last night—"

"Everyone was staring at us—because you were acting _insane_."

She brushed off his comment. "She was the most obvious though. She didn't even try to hide it. Even Matt was brooding in his seat because she barely said a word to him all night! Didn't you notice?"

"No," he answered honestly.

"That's because you're unobservant. And, on top of that, when I came home yesterday, I could tell she hated that I was with you, and the same thing this morning when I made you breakfast. I'm sure she's going to ask me about this too when I go home."

He had to admit that he liked hearing that Sora was jealous. It boosted his confidence, but he still didn't get where Mimi was going with her strategy. "I don't get why you had to flirt with me though."

She looked frustrated by his inability to understand. "What we're doing is influencing the part of her that still likes you. Believe me, if she still has feelings for you, it'll drive her mad that I 'like' you. And if I know Matt, it'll drive him mad too. You know how he is. He's going to bottle all of it inside, then blow up in her face later. All we have to do is wait, and their relationship will fall apart right in front of their faces. It's perfect! What do you think?"

He frowned, now understanding the extent of her plan. "You want to know what I think? I think you're a horrible friend. That's what I think."

Mimi waved a hand. "I am not. Think of it as me doing her a favour."

It didn't make him feel better. It felt wrong.

Even more, he couldn't believe Mimi couldn't see how malicious her plan was, because he knew she genuinely could not. That was the thing about Mimi. Whenever she did do something downright selfish, she couldn't see it herself.

"I don't want anything to do with this, and I want you to mind your own business too," he said firmly.

"But—"

"I mean it. What you're trying to do is wrong."

Something about the authority in his voice made her retreat with a frown instead of snapping at him as she usually would.

"I'm not trying to be a bad friend, you know," she said quietly. "I honestly think Sora would be better off with you instead of Matt. I was with them all day yesterday. They make an awful couple."

Inside, he knew he should not like what she was saying, but he couldn't help it. He liked that they had Mimi's disapproval. It was just one opinion, but it came from somebody whose opinion mattered. Jealous girls at their school didn't matter. Mimi, a friend of them both, did.

"It doesn't matter what you think. You aren't them, and you aren't allowed to decide what they'll do."

"I'm not!" she defended loudly, looking at him in exasperation. "I'm just speeding along the process to the inevitable. Tai, I'm trying to help _you_."

It was in Mimi's personality to think her opinion was fact, and she was very good at convincing others of the same thing. Merely due to the fact that he liked what he was hearing, it made him want to believe her. She didn't judge him the way Davis and Izzy had, nor did she try to convince him to stop himself. Why, she was urging him on!

"They're my friends too, you know," Mimi continued. "Think about it, Tai. What if they date for a long time, fall in love, then one day realise how wrong for each other they are? Think about how much it'd hurt the both of them. It'll be years of time and devotion they'll have wasted away, when it was so obvious from the beginning what would happen in the end."

The merit to the theory was outweighed by mere principle, but he let himself believe her anyway.

It wasn't like she was _completely_ wrong. The longer they dated, the harder their breakup would be. Mimi was right. They were destined to fail, so what was it to speed up the process? It was good friendship, that's what. He was saving them from heartbreak, and he would show Sora who was rightfully hers along the way. It was a win-win-win situation for the three of them, something they would look back on latter years with gratitude.

How had he not thought about it that way before? In the past he had found the various ways Mimi used to justify herself perplexing, but now he could see her reasoning.

"Well, maybe it's worth a shot," he agreed slowly, letting himself fall under her spell. There was no harm in testing the waters.

Her lips twitched before gradually stretching from ear to ear. "See! I told you! Oh, Tai, this is going to be so great! I get to be chief bridesmaid at your wedding for this, right?"

"Whoa, that's getting a little ahead of yourself, there."

"I like to think of the big picture." She stuck her tongue out at him as she took a seat beside him on his bed, slinging an arm over his shoulder. "Now, if you want this to work, you have to do everything as I say! Don't make me remind you again that everything _you've_ done so far has been an utter disaster. Trust me, my track record is flawless. Like this one time, my friend Steve had the hugest crush on my other friend Tatum, but she didn't like him back, which was sad because he's a really nice guy, just kind of awkward-looking, you know? Well, anyway, thanks to me, I convinced Tatum to give him a chance, and they've been happily dating ever since. Just follow my lead, and I can make that happen for you too."

This was the kind of thing she would tell him that would usually warrant a sarcastic remark of just how interesting he found her story, but this time he found himself getting a little hopeful for his own impending future.

On another note, he had to admit that he found her a little impressive.

"You know, Mimi," Tai said with a smirk. "If this whole thing with Sora doesn't work out, maybe you and I can have a go."

She sighed, withdrawing her arm from his shoulder and standing up again. "Tai, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm out of your league? It's good to aim high, but you have to keep it realistic."

He rolled his eyes, slightly disappointed that she hadn't even bothered to humour him. "Right. How could I forget something so obvious?"

She walked back to his desk and began to pack up the empty container on it. "Let me tell you one thing though. Matt isn't a horrible boyfriend. He's just an incompatible one, and you can't expect Sora to give someone like that up, especially when he is arguably better than you."

"Excuse me?"

This time she was the one who rolled her eyes, offending him further. "Look, you're a guy and you've known him for a long time, so you wouldn't understand, but you have to realise you're competing with Matt Ishida. He's like perfect."

"_Excuse me_?"

"I _said_ he's perfect," she repeated, knowing he had heard her the first time. "Think about it for a minute. Yes, he has a few temperament problems, but Matt treats her like a princess. You treat her like a boy."

"Sora doesn't like being treated like a princess."

"Every girl likes being treated like a princess!" she snapped loudly, reaching out to hit him again. "Sora just doesn't say it because she's not a brat, but what kind of a girl wants to not feel special? Honestly, Tai!" She huffed as he shushed her, thinking of his family. "Which brings me to my second point. He's sensitive, and you're one of the thickest people I've ever met."

"I can be sensitive," he objected.

"Then be sensitive!" she hissed. "For example, don't tell people they should work out!"

He smiled sheepishly, knowing that was directed at what he had said to her earlier. "I said I was sorry."

"He's more mature than you," she continued, ignoring his apology. He rolled his eyes, but before he could protest that statement, she added, "Not to mention the fact that he's really hot, isn't he?"

"Hey!" Tai snapped, instantly entering defensive mode. "I'm not bad-looking either!"

"Aw, is that what your mummy told you?" Mimi teased. She reached out to pinch his cheek, but he backed away, glaring at her. "Don't look at me like that. I'm only kidding. I guess you're cute, but let's just lay out the facts. Matt's gorgeous."

"I'm offended that you called me cute, one, and I'm offended that you think Matt is better looking than I am, two."

"My point of telling you all this is to mitigate that enormous ego of yours. You can't get bigheaded about this and think you have this in the bag—especially when Matt already has the advantage of dating her." She giggled when she saw that he was still glaring at her. "Tai, he's better looking than you. Get over it and focus."

He scowled angrily, turning his head to the opposite wall. "Whatever, it's not like your opinion matters when you're fourth of four."

He expected her to yell at him and hit him as she always did, but instead she fell silent, giving him no response. When he looked back to her, she looked both stunned and crestfallen, and he knew he had actually hurt her feelings this time.

"Er, sorry," he said awkwardly, not really knowing what to do or say. "I was only kidding, Meems. Come on, we always joke like this. It's your turn to tell me how ugly I am, see? You can say, 'Well, I'm still out of your league, so what does that make you?'"

"Yeah…" She fumbled with the pink silk scarf she had used to wrap her food tins, obviously not convinced.

"Aw, come on, Meems. You know I was kidding," he pleaded with an awkward grin, tapping her arm with his hand. "I wouldn't have said that if I really thought it."

"I know," she said, giving him a smile that he couldn't tell was genuine or strained.

It was odd to him that she was being so insecure, especially for a girl as pretty as her.

"So, er, anyway," he said, deciding to change the subject altogether. "If Matt is supposedly this perfect being and I'm the scum of the earth, why are you so sure I'm better for her than him?"

She seemed to return to normal, smirking at the jealousy in his tone. "Just because Matt's perfect doesn't mean he's the perfect one for Sora."

"Maybe you could date him," he suggested teasingly. "What's better than two perfect people dating, huh?"

"That'd solve all your problems, wouldn't it?" she joked along. "It'd never work though. I'm not perfect either."

* * *

Once Mimi left, he went to the soccer pitch in the park. Though he had more or less been conditioned to think this way, it really did feel like a second home to him, a haven of sorts. While he generally preferred being in people's company over being alone, it was nice to get away from it all to clear his head once in a while.

After his morning with Mimi, he had quite a lot in his mind, and he couldn't tell if he felt bad or not.

Without her presence there to convince him otherwise, it became clear to him that Mimi's plan was rash, manipulative and downright wrong.

But it was also a potential way to get Sora.

Was he willing to sacrifice Matt's friendship to get Sora's love?

At this point, he couldn't say it was completely out of the question. It was true that he and Matt had been through a lot together, but ultimately their differences kept them from becoming _truly_ close. There was no doubt in his mind that Matt was a friend of his—and an important one at that—but they both knew there was a single thread that kept them that way: an adventure they had shared seven years prior. Without that, their personalities, their interests, their distinctions all pointed them in opposite directions.

He had never really thought about it like that until Mimi hinted the same thing about herself and Matt right before she left his flat earlier. Being Digidestined was the solitary thing that bound them as friends, and she proved it by being unable to name a single fact about him.

Matt was, to her, both a friend and a perfect stranger.

He was not to the same extreme, but it did make him wonder. If they took away the fact they were all chosen for the same thing, would they still be friends? It was like they had all made an unspoken rule that they were to label each other as such, and nobody was allowed to say otherwise.

_Or you're just a jackass trying to think of excuses_, he thought bitterly as he half-heartedly kicked the ball around the field. He was kicking it around for the sake of doing something because it helped him think more than when he sat at home doing nothing.

This went on for a couple hours until he noticed that _he_ had come. It was nearing noon, and Matt was walking past the pitch in the park, giving him an unconvincing look of surprise, as if it were more shocking that Tai were here as opposed to himself.

Tai found himself very obviously looking at him back, though he did not make the effort to greet him. If Matt was the one who came here to talk to him, he could come up to him himself without his acknowledgement beforehand.

Matt left the dirt path of the park and made his way down to the soccer pitch. "Hey."

"Hey."

"…What're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. You don't strike me as the kind of guy who likes to take strolls through the park."

Matt shrugged. "I was bored."

He was so obviously lying, but Tai didn't question him. They didn't talk for a moment, standing in a silence that was, unexpectedly, quite comfortable.

"Did you eat?" Matt asked finally, breaking the lull. "I was cutting through the park to get lunch. Want to come?"

"I thought you said you were walking by because you were bored," Tai pointed out.

"Yes, well, that too," Matt said flatly. "Anyway, do you want to go or not?"

"I'm not hungry, and I have this." He took a protein bar out of his pocket so that Matt could see.

"I'll pay," Matt offered in an attempt to entice him.

"I have money." Tai smirked as Matt frowned. "Don't tell me _you're_ giving me the pity treatment too. Let me guess. Sora asked you to check up on me because she's nervous I'll nag at her for nagging at me."

"This has nothing to do with her. Can't a guy check up on his friend?"

Tai raised an eyebrow in doubt. "You came all the way here just to check up on me?"

"No, I came all the way here to get lunch," Matt responded curtly. "But even if I did, am I not allowed?"

He narrowed his eyes, suspicious because this was something Matt would not usually do. Matt didn't change his stoic expression, obviously trying to look like he couldn't tell that Tai was being so guarded.

"Fine, I'll bite," Tai agreed finally. "But we're paying separately. I don't want to go on a date with you."

* * *

It was a little annoying that Tai had been so apprehensive of his lunch invitation, but he supposed he had been a little out of character to suddenly approach him out of the blue with such a proposal.

In truthfulness, he really had just wanted to check up on his friend. Tai had been acting strange as of recently, and he suspected it had to do with Sora.

He had felt disconcerted about them since what Mimi had said the other night. At first he thought she had only been referencing Sora's former crush on Tai, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to be something other than that.

Mimi had made it sound like Tai was the one who liked Sora now. He couldn't see it because Tai had never once shown a single drop of interest in her, but it left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach anyway.

"Do I have something on my face?" Tai asked suddenly.

He blinked. "What?"

"You're looking at me like me like I have something on my face."

"Oh." He shook his head. "No, I was just thinking about something else."

Tai didn't seem interested, accepting his excuse easily and going back to eating his lunch.

Tai had let him pick the restaurant, thinking he already had something in mind, so Matt had arbitrarily picked the first restaurant that came up. It was a small, quaint, traditional restaurant, empty with the exception of them.

This was probably the first time in the history of their friendship that they had eaten lunch together, just the two of them. It wasn't a strange concept for two friends to eat lunch together, especially when they went as far back as he and Tai did, but Matt felt a little odd anyway.

For good reason, he thought. This friend of his, once the object of his girlfriend's affection, was quite possibly returning the feelings months later.

Well, he wasn't certain if that was what was happening. He wanted very badly to just ask him, but he knew it was an inappropriate question that had no real way of presenting itself in a cordial way.

Tai, already done with his meal while his was only halfway eaten, set down his chopsticks and leaned back in his seat.

"So how are you and Sora?"

He was almost like Tai was toying with him, urging him to wonder, to ask, to worry.

He knew it was in his head. Though Tai was trying to appear nonchalant, Matt could tell he was quite nervous.

"We're fine."

"Just 'fine'?" Tai repeated almost right away.

'_Fine' as in 'I'm-not-going-to-delve-into-my-relationship-with-you-right-now fine_,' Matt thought.

"We're good," he reworded instead, hoping that was enough to end the conversation.

"That's good."

Tai reached over to steal some of his hiyashi chuuka. Matt allowed it, even pushing his bowl to him.

"You know," Tai said, transferring the noodles from Matt's bowl to his own. "Sora likes hiyashi chuuka too."

The fact that he kept mentioning her made it harder for him to keep his mouth shut. He put a fist over his mouth, trying to stop himself from saying anything, but he felt the urge creeping up to the tip of his tongue.

Tai didn't notice this as his attention was not at Matt's face, casually adding, "She likes it with pork."

_It's just small talk. He's only making small talk. Don't overanalyse it._

"I hadn't tried it with pork until we split one at that restaurant near my place. She liked it so much that she ended up eating most of it, ha. Anyway, it was really good. You should try it next time."

He was practically staring at Tai as he started eating again, as if he stared intensely enough, Tai would feel compelled to reveal the truth—if it even was the truth.

His curiosity couldn't take the uncertainty, and he felt his willpower falter.

"Do you have feelings for Sora?" he blurted out.

Tai's eyes widened for a split second before he appeared to remember not to look so shocked.

"That was random," Tai joked, grin in place.

"Just answer me."

Tai picked up some noodles and looked at him as if he were crazy. "Obviously not. She's your girlfriend."

"It doesn't matter, does it? You can't help who you like." Matt sighed in his head as Tai stuffed food in his mouth. Even though he felt like he was disclosing her privacy, there was no point in pretending like Tai didn't already know what he said next. "I went for Sora when I knew she liked you."

The calm demeanour Tai had set forth was broken, and he could tell that he was trying his best not to look stunned. He quickly swallowed his food, then reached over to take a drink of his water.

"She's never said anything to me, but I know she liked you earlier this year," Matt explained. "I figured you didn't like her back, so I went for it. All's fair in love and war, right?"

Tai drew a breath. "Right."

"I won't mind if you do. Like her, that is. I trust you enough not to try and get between us." Matt set his chopsticks down, signifying he was finished eating. "I'm not stupid Tai. You went from teasing us every chance you got to ignoring us completely. Sora's a great girl, and you two have been friends for a long time. Is that why you've been acting up recently?"

Tai took a second longer to respond that he usually did. "You've got it wrong, Matt. I don't like Sora like that. She's my friend, and I can tell she's really happy with you." He shook his head, letting out a good-natured chuckle. "It's just from that damn Ichioka match. It ruined everything."

"You were acting strange before that," Matt said in seriousness, not letting him off the hook. "Look, we've been friends for a long time. I know I annoy you at times—and God knows you annoy me—but I consider you one of my closest friends. I hope you can think the same of me."

Tai leaned back in his chair, smirking still. "Cut the sap, Yamato. You don't have to fall in love with me."

He didn't return his smile. "So don't lie to me."

Tai's grin faded, he too turning quite solemn. "I'm not lying."

Neither spoke for a few seconds, Tai with his poker face in place while Matt tried his hardest to break it.

Technically, he had lied too when he told Tai he wouldn't mind if he liked her. Just thinking of the possibility made him feel sick to the core, because his insecurity told him that Sora would leave him in a second for Tai and never look back. It was difficult to forget that it was only due to Tai's push that Sora gave him a chance, and it was probably because she had thought Tai would never return her feelings for him. With that last remaining factor gone, she had nothing standing in her way but him.

On the other hand, he knew what he was thinking was an egregious discredit to both of their characters. Tai and Sora were not the kind of people who would do that to him, and he should have been more certain of that than anything else. How hypocritical he was to tell Tai that he considered him one of his closest friends, while his mind told him of a betrayal that wasn't even real. He should have been ashamed for not putting that sort of trust into their friendship.

He gave in first, picking up his chopsticks to pointlessly stir his remaining noodles. "Fine."

"You certainly have a vivid imagination though."

Matt didn't answer, continuing to stir, watching as his lunch transformed from food into an unappetising mush.

"Hey, but just so you know, she's like a sister to me. Mistreat her, and I'll kill you," Tai threatened, though his expression showed that he was joking.

Matt didn't return his merry attitude, remaining serious. "I really like Sora—more than she probably realises. I'd never mistreat her."

It was kind of weird. This was something he hadn't even admitted to her, yet he was telling it to Tai of all people.

"I know you won't," Tai said, also quite seriously, before changing his expression to a lighter one as he picked up the dessert menu. "Anyway, I'm still hungry. I'm going to order dessert. Do you want anything?"

Since Tai was hogging the menu, Matt asked, "Do they have chocolate cake?"

Tai raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought you hated chocolate—and cake—and sweets in general."

"I don't hate it," he said matter-of-factly, taking the menu from him to check for himself. "I just don't love it, but lately I've been trying to get into it."

Tai gave him a weird look. "Why?"

He shrugged dismissively. "I bet I could like it if I tried hard enough."

* * *

He was a little shocked to say the least that Matt had admitted everything that he had. It was not the first time Matt had opened up to him, but it still shocked him each time. Although he had already known that Sora once liked him, hearing Matt confirm it was like hearing it again for the first time. He thought that if he were in Matt's position, he would have never said anything to him.

Perhaps Matt just didn't see him as a threat.

Tai shook his head.

_No._

It was that Matt was genuinely a good friend, even if Tai didn't give him credit for it at times. He was wrong when he had thought they were friends only because they were Digidestined. They were more than a label, and honestly he could learn a thing or two about friendship from Matt. After all, lately he had been a horrible friend to him and Sora both.

"Oh, Ta-a-a-a-a-ai!" came a singsong voice.

He had just gotten home when he saw Mimi at the entrance to his building, waving happily at him. She twirled around once he reached her. "Welcome home! How do you like my haircut? Isn't it fab?"

It looked the same as it had that morning. "Hey Meems. Yeah, it looks nice."

She seemed pleased, running her fingers through her apparently newly cut hair. "Why'd you take so long? I've been waiting for a million years now!"

"I didn't know you were even here."

"Well, duh, I want to give you an update about you-know-who!" She poked him several times with her finger, looking quite enthusiastic.

"About that."

She didn't hear him, eagerly continuing. "So Sora and I went to the hair salon today, and she wouldn't stop asking me about my morning with you! Isn't that exciting?"

"Meems."

"Okay, I mean, I already think it's hilarious that she'd believe I'd show interest in you, but she thinks you like me back! Isn't that funny?"

"Meems."

"I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be easier than I thought. I can't believe she was being so obvious about it! She was practically begging me for details, and let me tell you something, Sora usually never asks me to elaborate when I tell her stories. See? I told you she likes you! I just knew it!"

"Meems."

Her giddiness faded as she started to scowl. "Ugh, can't you at least _pretend_ to be excited, you ungrateful jerk? I had to get a fringe for you, just to get this information out of her! This is hard work for me too, you know!"

"_Meems_."

"For goodness sake, Tai! _What_?" she finally acknowledged.

This was the sort of conduct that would usually irritate him in a second, yet for some reason it never bothered him when it came from Mimi. He couldn't tell whether it was due to him being so used to her or amused by her.

He put his hands in his pockets, already preparing himself for the verbal thrashing he would receive from her. "I've changed my mind. I can't sabotage Sora's relationship, so I want you to forget I ever wanted it."

As expected, she glared at him. "_Excuse_ me? And may I ask why not?"

He didn't think he owed her an explanation, considering it was his life that they were talking about, but he gave her one anyway. "I don't have a place to do something like that to her. She's happy with him… As long as she's happy, I'm fine."

He wasn't sure how it happened, but quite suddenly he felt a sharp impact with his face, thrusting his head to the left.

He was so taken aback that it took him a second to realise that she had hit him. It hadn't hurt because she hadn't meant to make it hurt, but he put a hand up to cheek anyway, gawking at her.

"Did you just freaking slap me?" he asked incredulously, unintentionally sounding angry.

"Yes," she answered tartly, no sign of regret in her tone. "That was the stupidest thing I've ever heard, so I needed to slap some sense back into you."

"Are you kidding me?!" he hissed, still staring at her. He couldn't believe it. It was the first time in his life that a girl had slapped him, and it had come from _Mimi Tachikawa_ of all people. "_You're_ the one who needs some sense slapped back into you!"

She put a hand over her mouth and gasped dramatically.

"I can't believe you just threatened to slap me!" she cried, missing the point of everything as she looked at him with wide, defenceless eyes. "Are you going to be a wife-beater, Tai?"

"Only if you're my wife," he said stonily.

She gasped again, then pinched his arm as hard as she could. He yelled, pulling it away from her.

"Never! Joke! About! That! You! Jerk!" She slapped his arms with each syllable. "That! Is! So! Rude!"

"All right!" he snapped, grabbing her by her thin wrists to stop her. "Stop abusing me already."

She thrashed about weakly to try to get out of his grasp, to no avail. She glared at him. "I'm going to kick you where it hurts if you don't let me go, Tai Kamiya. Don't think I'm bluffing."

She didn't need to tell him that for him to know that she wasn't, so he immediately let go. "Just stop hitting me," he warned. "I've made up my mind, and you _slapping_ me is not going to change anything."

She scowled, crossing her arms grumpily. "_Fine_. I just can't believe you're giving up."

"I'm serious about it too. Don't try to change my mind," he said, his tone making it sound like an order.

"Ugh, _fine_." She pouted in defeat, and he was surprised at how quickly she had given in. "But just so you know, I think it would be more romantic if you fight for her. Matt probably would."

"No, he wouldn't. Between us, I'd definitely do it before him."

"Well, he obviously did something right. He's the one who has her."

He didn't know why, as it wasn't like it was something he ever forgot—quite opposite really, as it was all he ever thought about—but he hated when people reminded him of that fact.

Still, regardless of what Mimi said, if he and Sora were ever to be together, he didn't want the foundation of their relationship to be built on manipulation.

Mimi sighed dramatically. "Well, even though it's a shame for you, I guess Sora is still fine. I mean, she _does_ have Matt, so _he'll_ probably cause her a lot less stress than you. And if he ever does stress her out, she can just look at his face and forgive him. You don't have that kind of capability."

He wasn't sure if she was purposely trying to demean him or if she genuinely meant no harm. With her, he couldn't tell.

"About that, Meems." He looked at her solemnly. "Stop saying things like that. Matt isn't better than me. Maybe I am cocky. Maybe I am immature. Maybe I am thick. Maybe I'm every other thing you said I was, but I'm not second to Matt, so don't ever tell me again that I am."

She looked amused that her comment had gotten to him as much as it had. "Maybe you aren't. Don't take it too personally, Tai. _I _like you better, if it makes you feel any better."

He returned her look of amusement, chuckling as he started walking up the steps to his apartment complex, signifying he was going home. "Mimi, please. I'm about to become the greatest footballer to ever come out of Japan. I'm way out of your league."

* * *

I'm sure you all tire of my frequent apologies, but sometimes they do seem quite necessary. Usually, if I take a long time to update, I at least want the chapter to be somewhat well-written, but I believe in this case I have simply taken too long without much to show for it. It just seemed silly to delay the update any longer when I didn't see any improvement in the foreseeable future.

Anyway, enough with the inane self-deprecation. It leads to a question I have. Would you rather see faster updates that are mediocrely written or slower updates with better constructed content? I'm curious because it will give me a better idea for the next time I get stuck in a chapter. For the record, this chapter would be an example of the former, even though the update was not by any means quick.


	23. Chapter 23

Oops, this chapter is nearly seven months late. Thank you everyone for the lovely reviews!

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 23**

Mimi had already been in town for almost two weeks. While she seemed to be enjoying spending a fortune on new clothing for herself and souvenirs for her friends back in New York, Sora felt guilty that her friends here in Japan weren't able to spend more time with her.

She, Yolei and Kari made themselves the most available for her, obviously, but she couldn't say the same for the boys. Matt was always busy with band practice; Joe had his internship; Izzy was doing some sort of summer project; TK had had free time in the beginning, but suddenly his basketball captain forced everybody who was still in town to put in extra practice; Davis apparently constructed a soccer boot camp for himself over the summer; Ken was forcefully dragged into said boot camp; and Cody boosted his kendo training.

As for Tai?

Well, she had no idea where he was. Technically, they hadn't had a row, but it had been three weeks since she had last had any real sort of interaction with him. She hadn't even seen him since the night Mimi came into town. It was a record for them in terms of not speaking to each other, yet strangely it didn't feel like that long. Perhaps it was because they were on holiday, and therefore she didn't have to sit next to him in class all day.

Anyway, avoiding each other would have to come to an end, as they would be forced to see each other tonight. She wondered whether it would be as awkward and uncomfortable as their last two encounters.

It was August 1, a special date for all of them. As lives progressed, it became more difficult for the twelve Digidestined to hang out all the time, but August 1 was a day that was inexcusable. There was an unspoken understanding that everyone had to show, no matter the circumstance. As Mimi put it, "If I can come all the way from New York, you can come from wherever you are in Japan." Nobody could really argue with that.

They used to just hang out at somebody's home or the park, but in the past couple years, they started to go to dinners too. Last year, they all went to the beach after dinner, but this year the restaurant was all they could do. Matt had late-night band practice; TK, Davis, Ken and Cody all had early-morning practice for their respective sport; and Joe had his internship to go to first thing in the morning. Sora thought this was a shame, as she was sure Mimi would have liked the night to last longer.

To make up for the shorter reunion, however, Mimi suggested that the least the girls could do was get ready together. So, she, Mimi, Kari and Yolei were currently huddled in Sora's room, where they had spent most of the time bonding and chatting as opposed to actually getting ready.

"I haven't seen your brother in days!" Mimi cried as she was styling Kari's short hair. "Why did he fall off the face of the planet?"

Sitting in front of her on the floor, Kari shrugged her thin shoulders. "He's been in Kyoto," she explained.

Mimi instantly scowled. "Ugh, he's so rude. He didn't even tell me he was going! I hate him."

"Kyoto?" Sora repeated with genuine curiosity. What on Earth was he doing there?

Without moving her head, Kari shifted her eyes towards Sora. "Kyoto University offered him a scholarship a while back, but they wanted to interview him in person and the only time he could go was during our summer holiday."

"Wow, your brother is such a big deal," Yolei offered from Sora's desk, taking a break from curling her hair. "My brother does nothing."

Sora tried not to frown. She hadn't known that Tai had received an offer from Kyoto University. Why hadn't he mentioned anything to her?

She tried to appear nonchalant. "He should have told me. I could have gotten my dad to let him stay with him so he wouldn't have to pay for a hotel."

Kari shook a hand, unable to shake her head due to Mimi. "No, it wasn't a problem at all. The university let him stay in one of the dormitories in the athletes' hall."

"Well, is he at least coming tonight?" Mimi asked impatiently before spritzing hairspray into Kari's newly textured hair. "I'm never going to forgive him if he doesn't."

"Of course! He told me to tell you that he'll attempt to comb his hair like you asked him to."

"A _comb_?" Mimi cried in sheer horror. "A _comb_ isn't going to do anything! I told him that he needs shears, a Mason Pearson brush and plenty of hair serum or pomade!"

"Erm, I don't think he's going to do that," Kari admitted as nicely as she could.

"Of course he won't. He probably doesn't even know the difference between a Mason Pearson brush and any old dodgy one you find in the high street."

Sora also did not know the difference, but she couldn't be bothered to care.

Unless Tai forgot—and she knew he had not—he was very well aware that Kyoto University was her top choice. She couldn't imagine any reason why Tai would not relay the news that they had offered him a scholarship to her. Even if he had no intention of going, he should have known that she over everyone else would be the most excited.

"Can somebody please tell me why I'm curling my hair?" Yolei whinged, taking yet another break. "The weatherman said it might rain, so my hair is going to be shot to all hell anyway."

"A, because the weatherman always lies. B, because we're making you hot for Ken, remember?!"

Mimi had took it upon herself to make sure all four of them looked absolutely flawless for tonight, even making it a requirement that they all wear dresses and heels. Sora thought it was a little silly to get so dressed up for the boys, but they all listened to Mimi anyway. Unsurprisingly, Mimi looked the most dressed up wearing a short, pale pink silk dress, accessorised with gold jewellery and nude heels. She left Kari's side to grab Yolei's curling iron, which was actually her curling iron, and began to finish the job.

Yolei sighed. "Can the three of you please look uglier so he even notices me?"

"Don't say that! You look so beautiful!" Mimi gushed.

"I look like a tramp," Yolei objected, looking down at the long-sleeved, black sequined dress she was wearing. She had raided Mimi's suitcase by order of Mimi herself, but it became evident that all of her clothes were too small on the taller Yolei. What was a dress that cut off mid-thigh for Mimi went much farther up Yolei's legs.

"No, you don't!" Mimi snapped immediately. "I would do anything to have long legs like you. You don't even need to wear heels for them to look good! Believe me, if Ken doesn't fall for you, something must be seriously wrong with him!"

It did little to boost Yolei's confidence, but Mimi gave the curling iron back to her, silently commanding her to continue.

"Now, where was I?" Mimi asked nobody in particular. "Oh, right! Kari, come here so I can fix you!"

"But—"

"Come here!"

Kari had been the latest to come, and Mimi had been just short of being absolutely appalled. The youngest of them had arrived looking far too casual for Mimi's standards, so Mimi was forcing her to change out of her floral sundress to something more formal. The problem was that everything of Mimi's was now too big for the petite Kari.

"Hm, what about this?" Mimi asked, pulling out two neatly rolled garments, one apricot and one a midnight blue. She unrolled them to reveal two identical, chiffon empire dresses with an embellished trim. "My ex-boyfriend used to get mad at me for wearing these because it was too short." She rolled her eyes. "He said I was wearing a shirt as a dress. Can you believe him?"

Kari skipped over the last part that Mimi had said. "I'm okay with anything."

Mimi held up both dresses up to Kari's frame. "I think this apricot one matches your style better, so let's go with the navy one! It'll shock people!"

"Okay," Kari agreed.

Mimi sighed, handing the dress to her. "I wish your brother was as obedient as you."

As Kari changed, Mimi fished through her bottomless suitcase once more, muttering something about how she had a belt and some bangles that would make it look like Kari had worn brown shoes on purpose.

"Meems, do you realise we're all wearing something of yours?" Sora pointed out. She herself was wearing a flowy, knee-length wrap dress that Mimi had brought her from New York. She was fairly surprised Mimi had managed to pick something out that was actually more Sora's style than her own. She didn't want to wear anything cutesy like Mimi or short and tight like Yolei, thinking it'd be too awkward just to see the boys, and this one fit the bill because Mimi had gotten it for her.

Mimi stuck her tongue out at her. "And that's precisely why all of us look so fab. I want us to all look super hot in the photos!"

Mimi kept on insisting that they'd have to take a lot of pictures tonight, wanting to put them online so her ex could see how hot she looked and how much fun she was having without him. Mimi thought it would make him jealous that most of her friends were guys, so she personally called each one to insist that none of them look like slobs. Sora didn't really get why Mimi was making such a big deal about her ex, as they both knew the two of them would get back together within days, as they always did.

Mimi turned to Kari, giving her the bangles to wear and clasping a wide, brown belt high up the dress. She stepped back, squealing. "Eek, my girls are so beautiful! Who's the one who likes you again? TK? Davis? Whatever, they're both going to die!"

Sora noticed that Kari, who was usually quick to correct people when they said TK liked her, only smiled wryly.

Yolei rolled her eyes. "Kari could go in a rag, and Davis would still think she looked perfect."

"I don't know why you're saying that like it's a bad thing," Mimi said, sighing as she finally started to take off the rollers she had earlier placed in her hair. "I wish somebody would think that about me."

Yolei seemed to think it over.

"No, not if it's Davis," she concluded, causing the other three girls to giggle. She turned around in her chair, her long hair now successfully curled à la Mimi, grinning at Kari eagerly. "But since we're on the topic, Kari, which one do you like? TK or Davis?"

"Wait! Wait!" Mimi shrieked excitedly, knocking her rollers off Sora's desk as she rushed to grab the youngest girl. "Yolei, get up and let Kari sit. If we're going to gossip, we have to do this properly. Kari, everything you say from now on is sacred and will not leave this conversation, and you aren't allowed to lie! Swear on our friendship!"

"Guys," Sora spoke up, feeling like at least one of them had to side with Kari.

However, Kari didn't seem flustered by the attention like Sora would have, shrugging her shoulders as Mimi forced her to sit down. "I don't like either of them. They're both good friends."

"But if you _had_ to pick one, who would you pick?"

"Mm…" Kari thought aloud.

"Oh, my God," Yolei interrupted loudly, throwing her arms up in the air. "I can't even believe you have to think about this. Kari, I swear if you ever date Davis, it'll be the biggest waste in the history of the universe. You're way too good for him—_way_ too good for him."

A small frown formed on Kari's delicate face, her brows furrowing. "That isn't true."

"You're defending him!" Mimi cried, fiercely pointing a finger at her. "Does that mean you pick Davis?"

"No, I'm just saying—"

Mimi gasped suddenly, flipping around to look at Sora, half her hair still in rollers. "Sora, bring me a pen and paper! We're making a pro-con list!"

"We don't need anything like that. I can already do it in my head," Yolei muttered. "Davis has no pros. TK has no cons. The end."

"That's not true either," Kari defended. "Davis has a lot of good qualities TK doesn't."

"Oh, my God. You're in love with him," Mimi accused, twisting her words.

"No, because TK also has qualities that Davis doesn't."

"Exactly! That's why we need to make a pro-con list!" Mimi insisted in exasperation.

Sora was going to jump in to rescue Kari from Mimi and Yolei's interrogating, but she decided against it when she saw that Kari was actually the calmest of the three, while Mimi and Yolei were getting flustered that the youngest so easily avoided answering each question they threw at her.

Deciding to leave the three be for now, she opened the doors of her wardrobe instead to pull out a cardigan, just in case it would get cold in the restaurant.

"Sora!" Mimi suddenly shrieked, breaking away from her conversation with Yolei and Kari. "_Please_ don't tell me you're going to wear that."

Sora looked at her confusedly. "It might get cold."

"I forbid it!" Mimi screeched, standing up, snatching it from her hands. "This is the single most heinous thing I have ever seen! It's going to make you look like an old lady, and I simply must insist that you bin it right away!"

"Meems, we're just going to see the guys," she reminded her once again, a little hurt that Mimi had said such harsh things about her favourite cardigan.

"Then we have every reason to look our best!" Mimi shot back, missing her point. "You have Matt, Yolei has Ken, Kari has TK and Davis, and I have—" She stopped herself. "Anyway, I like dressing up, and it's August 1." She suddenly shrieked, eyes widening. "My hair! I forgot about my rollers! Why didn't one of you tell me?! I'm going to look crooked! Eurgh, this is all TK and Davis' faults!"

Mimi rushed to her reflection, pulling down the rest of her rollers as fast as she could, hastily brushing through the curls with her fingers in an attempt to match the looseness of the other side.

While Yolei and Kari giggled at Mimi's dramatics, Sora couldn't help but linger at how Mimi had stopped herself from saying who she was trying to impress. Perhaps it was nobody.

…Or perhaps it was somebody within the group, but she didn't want to say anything in front of his little sister.

* * *

Tai didn't understand why Mimi always insisted on them going to a fancy, expensive restaurant. For Heaven's sake, they were just teenagers.

As expected, all the boys were on time while all the girls were late. Izzy accredited this to the fact that the girls were getting ready together. Joe translated that to mean they had at least another thirty minutes before their arrival.

"This place is too posh for me," Davis whinged, looking quite stuffy in his dress shirt. "At least you guys look eighteen. It's so obvious that Ken, Cody and I are our ages, and TK over there looks about five."

Despite his stab at TK, Tai noticed that Davis had managed not to mess up the letters in his name, most likely due to the presence of his intimidating older brother.

"I think they give our table up if our party isn't here within fifteen minutes," Cody said, reading a sign on the host stand.

"Yeah, but what are the chances of another party of twelve showing up without a reservation?" TK asked.

Tai sighed, resting his head impatiently on his hands. "Somebody call one of them and tell them to hurry up before I go to the McDonald's around the corner."

"They're on their way," Matt said, looking down at his mobile. "Sora says they're in the cab now, so they should be here within a few minutes."

"Tell them I'm starving," Davis moaned.

"Just wait five minutes," Matt shot down authoritatively, making Davis retreat.

Unlike Mimi, who either couldn't read time or simply disregarded it, Sora kept her word, so the girls rolled in about five minutes later, apologising. Tai raised an eyebrow at how dressy they all looked.

"You girls look great!" Davis said immediately, standing up. "Especially you, Kari. You look perfect."

"Thank you, Davis," Kari accepted as Mimi walked to the hostess' stand to claim her reservation. "You look nice too."

Davis' face brightened, and he excitedly walked up to her. "Really? You think so? Aw, this is nothing. I would have put in more effort if I knew. Do you want to sit together? We should sit together."

Tai felt a little embarrassed for Davis because of his nervous rambling, but he quickly forgot about it, his attention shifting to Sora and how nice she looked instead. He liked to think he was being stealthy, but for all he knew he was blatantly staring. He was rather enjoying himself too, until Matt obstructed his view, taking her by the shoulder and leading her to their table.

He felt a nudge on his arm, and he looked down to see Mimi smirking at him.

"Do you like her dress?" she asked, only loud enough for him to hear. "I bought it for her."

Not wanting Mimi to play him, he merely said, "I like yours more."

She frowned, knowing that he had only said it to avoid talking about Sora.

"Thank you," she said anyway, smoothing the fabric. "I wore my ugliest one because I knew there's nobody to impress here."

He chuckled. "What a coincidence. We were all saying the same thing about you girls."

She slapped his arm, though he could tell she hadn't taken the insult to heart.

"Walk with me," she commanded. "I can't really walk in these shoes, and I don't want to fall."

"Then why did you wear them?"

"Because they're cute, and I'm short."

Rolling his eyes at her vanity, he held out his arm, allowing her to use it as support as he walked towards their table.

"You didn't do anything to your hair," she pointed out.

"Nope."

"You said you would."

"I lied."

"Well, it looks hideous."

"How angry would you be if I messed up your hair so we match?"

"Angry enough to kill you, probably."

He laughed, stopping when they reached the table. They were the last two to arrive, and the two seats that were available in the rectangular layout was one between Sora and Yolei on one side, presumably for Mimi, and another at the end of the other side of the table beside Izzy, presumably for him. He was about to sit down, but Mimi grabbed him to stop him.

"Yolei, can you sit by Izzy, please? I want to sit next to Tai."

Alarmed, Tai looked down at her, trying to signal her with his eyes to stop it.

"Er…" Yolei stood up awkwardly.

"It's fine," Tai said quickly, motioning for Yolei to sit back down. "Mimi, stop it."

"But I want to sit next to you, and I'm not about to ask _Sora_ to move when she wants to sit next to _Matt_."

He tried to control his facial expression, knowing Mimi had emphasised their names for a reason. Had he not made himself _clear_ when he told her the other day that he didn't want this? He glared at her, and she just stared at him back, looking oblivious even though he knew she wasn't.

"I can move. That's fine," Yolei said when neither of them said anything. She scooted past Kari and Davis to the other side of the table, sitting beside Izzy.

"Thank you, Yolei," Mimi said sweetly before grabbing Tai by the sleeve, dragging him to his seat, setting him down by his sister before taking the chair between him and Sora. She looked around the table chirpily, as if nothing had happened. "So, what is everybody having?"

* * *

Mimi giggled fiercely, taking endless photos of Joe with her camera, who had the unfortunate luck to sit directly across from her.

"Come on, Joe! Just smile once, and I'll stop!"

"Why are you only taking photos of me?" Joe complained. "I'll take a group picture or something later, but I don't want a bunch of candid pictures of me eating."

"Stop being a girl, Joe! What kind of guy cares about how he looks in photos?"

"Can you two stop? You're embarrassing us," Tai said between bites of his dinner. Between Mimi's giggling, Joe's whinging and the flash of the camera, people had started looking over to the seemingly obnoxious group of teenagers.

Mimi stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't be jealous just because I'm giving Joe more attention than you."

"I'm not—" He couldn't even finish his sentence, rendered speechless by her shamelessness. He glared at her instead, which she ignored.

"Hey Mimi, may I see your camera for a moment?" Davis asked sweetly.

"Of course you may," Mimi replied just as nicely, giving poor Joe a break.

Davis waited as the camera travelled from Mimi to Tai to Kari to him. He examined it for a second when he got it, then stretched it out across the table to TK, who was sitting across from Kari.

"Can you take a picture of me and Kari?" he asked, smirking.

Tai saw a faint trace of exasperation on TK's face, but TK did not bring attention to it, agreeing and taking the camera from Davis' hand. Davis put an arm around Kari's shoulder and tilted his head towards hers, smiling.

"Here," TK said once he had taken it, holding the camera back out to him.

"One more?" Davis asked innocently.

TK didn't respond to the provocation this time either, abiding to Davis' request before handing the camera back to him once more. Davis did a quick check, showing the pictures to Kari before handing the camera back to its owner.

"Cute," Mimi said, not really seeming all that interested. She turned around. "Sora, can you take a picture of me and Tai too?"

He wanted to look at Sora's expression but didn't, knowing it was what Mimi wanted him to do. Mimi leaned back towards him, and he only put a hand to her shoulder to keep her from falling on him. She put an arm back to touch his hair, and he pulled it back down.

"Mimi, stop it," he hissed for what seemed like the twentieth time.

She puckered her lips at him instead, and, while she did not actually make an effort to get closer to him, he jerked back instinctively, perhaps a little too suddenly as Mimi nearly lost her balance with him.

Davis gave an obnoxious whistle. "Kiss her!"

Davis seemed to be the only one who found humour in this, as the rest of the group was either staring or trying not to stare.

"Mimi, talk with me for a second," he said stonily, standing up. He grabbed her by the arm and lifted her out of her chair before she could protest, then dragged her through the restaurant, not looking back to see the reaction of the others. She waited until they were outside to smack his hand, scowling angrily.

"That _hurts_, you jerk! I hope I bruise! I'll report you!"

He ignored her, half because he knew she was exaggerating, half because he was so annoyed. "Mimi, I thought I had made myself clear when I said not to do that anymore!"

"Hmph." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't know what you're whinging about. I didn't do anything."

"You 'didn't do anything'?!" Tai repeated incredulously.

"As if I'd ever kiss you! Gross!" she shrieked, glaring at him before she distractedly stood up on her toes to peek over his shoulder. "Well, for what it's worth, Sora's looking at us."

"She's looking at us because you're mad!" Tai shot back, resisting the urge to turn around and check for himself. "Mimi, I'm serious. You better stop."

"'I _better_ stop'?" Mimi repeated, her voice high. "Or what, Tai?"

"Or I swear on my life that I'll 'accidentally' spill everything within arm's reach all over your dress."

She gasped loudly. "This dress is Miu Miu!"

"Even better," he said, even though he didn't know what that meant. "I'll ruin it."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me," he challenged. "I've done a lot of crazy things in the past month. Believe me, ruining your dress is on the bottom of that list. If I'm really angry, maybe I'll ruin your bag too. I'll cut through it with my knife—"

"_I'll kill you_!" she screeched, reaching up to strangle his neck. He grabbed her wrists to stop her, surprised by her frightening retaliation.

"Stop overreacting," he told her, careful to watch her feet for a painful counter. "Just promise me you'll stop flirting with me, and I won't do anything."

"I hope I really do bruise, you jerk," she whinged, rubbing her wrists when he let her go. "Then I'll tell everyone, and everyone will hate you!"

"I barely touched you," he countered, opening the door to the restaurant for her. "Now, when we go back inside, you better not pull another stunt like that. I'm serious, Meems. I won't hesitant to ruin your night. I might even have fun doing it."

She didn't yell at him the way he expected. She didn't even move, just looking at him with a curious look on her pretty face.

He raised an eyebrow. "What? Is it your feet? Do you need me as support again?"

"No, I was lying when I said that before."

He rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. "I knew it."

She didn't reprimand him for his attitude, her expression remaining unreadable. "Have you ever been in a bad relationship before?"

He closed the door again, knowing she wasn't going to let him go yet. "Not really."

"What about that horrible girl you dated last year?"

"Who, Nanami?" Tai asked, wondering how Mimi even knew that. They had never met.

"Yeah, that's the one. Sora told me about her," Mimi answered, reading his mind as she smirked. "Sora hated her. She called her the b-word and everything. Can you believe that?"

Tai didn't think he had ever heard Sora swear, and he had to admit that he kind of liked that Sora had hated Nanami to that point.

However, even though he and Nanami had broken up on bad terms and she now hated him, he didn't think he would necessarily describe their past relationship as a bad one. "Sorry to break it to you, but Nanami and I were cool."

"Well, you're lucky then. You know, there are some people who spend months and years thinking they're with this perfect person, but then you realise one day that he's just used to you or you're just used to him, and actually the two of you have nothing in common. And then you're just trapped, because that person is all you know. You're unhappy with him, but you're unhappy without him, and you can't do anything because despite what everyone says, it's impossible to be friends with exes. Think about it. It's _Matt_ and _Sora_. Sora will never hurt him, and even though I don't know Matt as well as I know Sora, I'm pretty sure he'd never do anything to risk his friendship with her. Is that what you want to happen to them? Think about it that way, Tai! You could be saving them!"

He would have laughed in her face for being so dramatic if she wasn't looking at him so pleadingly. In fact, she seemed so serious that he wondered for a fleeting second if she was talking about herself, though he didn't think she would disclose that with him now.

"But what will that make me? If Sora ever finds out I went along with your plan, she'll never talk to me again."

"You're wrong," Mimi disagreed immediately. "You've done a lot of stupid and insensitive things to her before, but she always forgives you. I know she nags at you a lot, but it's only because she's so comfortable with you. I don't have anyone like that. I'm willing to bet Matt doesn't either."

"Mimi," he said, trying to articulate each syllable without coming across as too undermining. "I'm not going to go along with your plan, and nothing you do or say will change my mind. So, please, I'm literally begging you, stop. Think about what my sister thinks when you're trying to kiss me at the dinner table!"

She rolled her eyes, the rare solemnity leaving her face. "I'm sure Kari knows you kiss girls, the same way I'm sure you know that Kari has probably kissed—" She smiled a little as he glared furiously at her, ready to purposely annoy him. "Kari's probably snogged all the boys at your school by now. We girls talked for a long time today, and apparently everyone is in love with her."

"That's it. Your dress. It's ruined."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever. I'm tired of talking to you now. Let's go back inside. It's humid, and my hair is going to frizz."

"It's already started," he lied as he opened the door for her again. He looked down at her earnestly. "I'll let you off for that Kari comment—which is untrue, by the way—but I'm serious about Sora, Meems. I'm ordering a coffee the second we go in. Don't think I won't ruin your night if you try anything funny."

"All right! I already heard you the first ten million times!" she snapped as she pushed him away from the door so she could go in. "But threaten me again, Tai Kamiya, and I _will_ kill you."

He chuckled as she stormed in. He knew she was probably annoyed for being lectured, but she was not angry.

* * *

It was when Matt announced with regret that he had to go to band practice that the group decided to call it a night.

Huddled outside of the restaurant to say their goodbyes, everyone was making plans to meet up again soon, though a full twelve-member reunion probably wouldn't happen until Mimi was set to leave in a couple of weeks.

"Awwww," Mimi and Yolei teased, hugging each other to mimic Matt and Sora as they gave each other a hug goodbye.

Sora turned pink, while Matt pretended not to notice them, giving everyone else a consolidated farewell before leaving first. Davis and Ken had decided over dinner to play soccer in Tamachi where Ken lived, so they were the next to leave to catch the tube. Joe and Izzy lived in a similar area, as did TK, Yolei and Cody, so they too broke off towards their respective directions.

Left with Sora, Mimi and Kari, Tai was about to suggest walking together before Mimi went ahead to ruin that idea.

"Kari, I saw this really cute blouse the other day when I was shopping," she piped up brightly. "I was going to get it for you, but I didn't want to guess your size. The boutique is around here, so let's go and I'll buy it for you!"

Kari looked troubled. "Oh no, I couldn't possibly—"

"Sh!" Mimi shushed quickly, linking arms with his sister. "I won't take no for an answer. Let's go!" She turned to Tai and Sora, waving as she began walking. "We'll see you two later!"

Mimi practically ran the opposite direction, grasping his sister's arm so she had no choice but to follow. She had very purposely done this to leave him alone with Sora, and so far he wasn't entirely sure whether he was grateful or dismayed. He quickly glanced over to see Sora's reaction, and while he had only peeked at her for a second, he could instantly sense the immense awkwardness she felt.

This was going to be just like the last time he had to walk her home. He could still remember how painfully long and silent that had been.

"Sorry," he found himself saying, even though there wasn't really a need for him to apologise.

"For what?" she asked, trying and failing to appear casual.

"For being stuck with me, I guess."

He probably could have put it more diplomatically, but he felt no need to euphemise anything. She didn't want to be alone with him, and she had good reason.

She was silent, the light crinkling of her brows indicating she wasn't sure how to respond to him, but she eventually just cracked a small smile. "Tai, I've been stuck with you since I was in primary school. Believe me, I'm used to it by now."

The grin that crept on his face mirrored hers. He was delighted that she wasn't just going to pretend he wasn't there the way she had the last time. A part of him felt like he should make up some sort of excuse as to why he had tried to kiss her that one stupid day, but he pushed the thought aside, not wanting to ruin anything else. Mentioning it would only revert them back to their uncomfortable stage.

"And what a privilege it must be for you to know me for so long," he boasted.

She rolled her eyes. "Stop being stupid, and let's go. The weatherman said it might rain."

He happily walked alongside her, pleased that a momentary mistake on his part did not mean she wanted nothing to do with him anymore. If pretending it had never happened was what she wanted, he was willing to live with that.

As much as he wished he hadn't, he had really missed his friend.

"Let's cut through the park," he suggested, though he knew cutting through the park would actually lengthen the time it would take to get to their homes. She probably knew it too, but she agreed.

* * *

"This is your fault!" she hissed, running to find shelter underneath the public washrooms.

"How was I supposed to know?" he cried back, running after her. They stood just outside the entrance doors, bodies pressed up against the cool cemented wall, neither wanting to go inside.

"I _told_ you it was going to rain!"

"You didn't tell me that!"

"Yes, I did! I _specifically_ remember telling you it was going to rain!"

"It's not my fault! You agreed to come!"

"But _you_ suggested it!"

The rain had come practically unannounced. The Tokyo lights made it difficult to see stars, and neither had noticed that the dark sky had been enveloped in ominous clouds. One second, they were walking, laughing about one thing, the other, it was pouring and they were yelling at each other as they scrambled to find shelter in the middle of the large, open park.

Even though they were yelling, Tai felt an odd sort of comfort at doing so. Strangely enough, bickering with her meant that even if everything wasn't perfect between them, they were back on good terms.

"I bet Mimi is freaking out," Tai mused, thinking of their friend shrieking that the moisture was ruining her hair. Served her right for always making fun of his awesome hair.

"Forget Mimi's hair. She's going to freak that I ruined her dress," Sora complained, looking down at her drenched clothes.

Despite the warm weather, he saw her shiver once, and he instantly took off his jacket.

"The inside is still dry," he explained, handing it to her.

"It's fine, Tai."

He raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I'm only offering it because I can see through your dress, but if you say so—ow."

She slapped his arm and seized the jacket, putting it on immediately, scowling at him.

"I was just kidding," he told her as the musty wind blew a few raindrops against his dry shirt. He sighed, though he wasn't all that frustrated. "We should just stay here until it dies down. I bet it will soon."

It didn't have to. He sort of wished it wouldn't, wanting to extend his time alone with her.

"Fine," she agreed, sighing too. "But this is still all your fault."

"Fine, it's my fault," he agreed.

She frowned at him but knew she could say nothing more. Childishly, he grinned, because he had won.

"So how's your holiday so far?" she asked him instead.

"All right," he answered generically. "Yours?"

"Apparently not as interesting as yours."

He raised an eyebrow at her derisive quip, ready to spout one of his own. "I wouldn't know. You haven't talked to me either."

She twitched slightly, again because he was right and she had nothing to defend herself. "I guess that's true."

She looked up past the overhang, staring as the droplets of water fell from the blackened sky. He followed her gaze, and the two stood in comfortable silence, accompanied by the sound of rain that, despite its pounding, soothed him.

"I asked Coach if I could join the team again," he said once a few minutes had passed, if only to make sure they were being silent by choice, as opposed to force.

Indeed, she looked at him curiously, no trace of discomfort on her face. "Really? What did he say?"

"He said he'd think about it, but that means yes." He chuckled, jokingly adding, "Those guys need me if they ever want to win again."

It worked, as she laughed with him. "You're so arrogant. Remember, there's no 'I' in 'team.'"

"But there is a 'me,'" they finished in unison.

Sora laughed again, shaking her head in feigned disappointment. "I think it's sad how well I know you."

_But I'm still not good enough._

"Yeah," he agreed, laughing too.

"So do you know what uni you're going to for sure now?"

"I haven't accepted an offer yet," he admitted with a shrug. "What about you?"

She sighed and leaned against the wall, dragging an arm over the fabric of his jacket she wore. "Unfortunately, we normal people have to wait until the end of September for our acceptance letters—or rejection ones."

Reading between the lines, he assured her, "You'll get into Kyoto."

"I don't know if my application is strong enough, but I have my fingers crossed that my legacy will mean something," she said, her tone and smile reflective of her nerves.

He felt guilty. Pupils like Sora deserved to go to Kyoto University over him, yet he was the one who had already been accepted. Sometimes, he felt an athletic scholarship was just a legal form of cheating.

"I know you'll get in," he told her firmly, meaning it.

She smiled at him, but it faded when he smiled back. It took her a moment to finally ask, "Why didn't you tell me you got an offer from Kyoto?"

He was taken aback by her question, and he could tell from the way she had blurted it that she had been trying to find a way to bring it into the conversation for a while now. He wondered how she had found out, though he guessed that Kari must have mentioned it in passing.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "My mum's the one who made me check them out, but I'm not interested in leaving Tokyo for uni."

She knitted her brows. "I heard you visited the campus last week. You should have told me. I could have asked my dad to show you around or something."

"I wouldn't want to waste your dad's time," he said with a shrug. Then, he added with a smirk, "Honestly, I don't know why you want to go to Kyoto so much when everything is so much better here."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Maybe I just want to get rid of you."

He laughed, pretending to look hurt. "Well, in that case, maybe I'll just follow you there, just to make you mad."

She rolled her eyes at him."Well, unlike you, Izzy, Yolei and Ken all said they'd consider going if they got accepted," she said, moving her weight from one foot to the other. "It'd be nice to see some people I know there if I do get in."

He couldn't help but notice that Matt's name was not included in her list, but he didn't bring any attention to it.

"It's kind of weird to think we're all separating next year."

She sighed heavily as she nodded. "I know, but it isn't like it hasn't already been happening. I mean, think about it. Mimi lives in New York, so we see her once a year. Joe's in uni, so he's always so busy. Ken only lives one district away, but I rarely see him. Cody _lives_ in Odaiba, but I can't think of the last time I saw him outside of a reunion. It's sad, isn't it? How easy it is for people drift apart."

He looked down at Sora's face, it having become progressively more upset looking the more she had rambled. She was almost out of breath, as if this too was something she had been thinking about for a long time.

"Well then, don't drift apart."

She looked confused by his simplistic answer.

"Even if we don't see certain people that much anymore either, it isn't like anything has changed. Joe is still as Joe as ever. Mimi is still as Mimi. I don't know about you, but I don't have to see people everyday to classify them as my friends. Besides," he grinned, "Kyoto is only a three-hour train ride from here. You make sure to visit me, and I'll make sure to visit you. Deal? After all, what do three hours have on a decade-long friendship, Sor? I can't speak for anyone else, but nothing will happen to us."

He meant what he said. Even though the emotional unease of her dating Matt had made temporary marks on their friendship, he wouldn't let something as insignificant as distance take a toll.

She smiled a little. "All right then. I'm going to repeat that to you next year when you're too lazy to get your bum on a train to Kyoto."

"Well, actually, it'd technically make more sense for you to take a train to Tokyo." He laughed when she frowned. "I'm just kidding. I'll buy my ticket in advance when you get accepted, all right?"

"_If_ I get accepted," she corrected him.

"_When_ you get accepted," he argued adamantly. "Come on, you and I both know you're getting in. Stop being modest and admit it. It's just me. I'm not going to judge you for saying something you already know is true."

She looked at him unsurely, looking shy. "Fine. When I get accepted." She hit him. "If I get rejected now, it's going to be all your fault for jinxing it."

"Deal," he agreed. "But why is everything always my fault?"

She put a palm on his cheek and pushed it away lightly. "Because you always let me blame you."

"Because I'm nice," he reasoned.

She rolled her eyes again. "If you're so nice, go find us a cab."

"If we wait, the rain will stop eventually."

"Who knows when that is?" she argued.

He smiled, amused because usually their stances would be the opposite. He looked off towards the nearest exit gates where the roads were. "We can make a run for it."

She followed his line of vision and sighed in defeat. "Fine. Just know that this is all your fault, and I'll never forgive you."

He smirked, taking the first step out of the dry shelter of the overhang into the open of the pounding rain, holding out a hand for her that he knew she wouldn't take. "Stop lying, Sor. You always forgive me."

* * *

"It figures!" Sora huffed as they walked from the cab to the entrance of her apartment complex. "The second we get here, it stops pouring."

"I told you we should've stayed longer," he nagged. "And you say I'm the impatient one."

The rain had died down significantly to a soft mist.

"Murphy's Law, Tai. If we were still at the park, it'd be raining cats and dogs still."

"No, it wouldn't. You just don't want to admit I was right."

"Yeah right." She pushed his shoulder lightly. "Anyway, if you want, you can come inside and wait until the rain clears." She looked at him oddly. "Mimi might be home, if you want to see her."

He shrugged to hide the discomfort he felt. "I'm already drenched. What's another couple blocks?"

By the odd look still in place, he knew his answer wasn't good enough for her. She looked confusedly torn as to whether she should say what she was thinking or not.

She went with the former.

"This is kind of weird, but is anything going on between you and Mimi?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but his brain was currently fighting his voice for the answer.

Everything Mimi had worked to try to ruin, this was his chance to clear the air and lay down firmly that the two of them were nothing but friends.

But.

There was a hint of disapproval in her face, an even bigger hint in her tone, and they were all too tantalising.

"Mimi's fun," he said, not answering her question.

She cocked her head. "What does that mean?"

"She's entertaining. She makes me laugh."

She stared at him some more, then slowly nodded. "Well, you two would look cute together."

"Cuter than you and Matt?" he asked automatically.

"Well, Matt and I don't kiss in public the way you and Mimi do."

His eyes shifted from her eyes to her nose. "We never did that. She was just trying to get attention." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, uncomfortable with lying to Sora, even if it was just by omission. "Anyway, I should go. I'm sure my mum will want to kill me before her bedtime for ruining my clothes again."

She nodded. "All right."

It was only for a split second, but it had definitely been there. They faced a rift, neither unsure of what to do. He certainly hadn't forgotten their almost kiss, and surely she hadn't either. However, in an effort to pretend that it had never happened, he stretched his arms out to hug her. She pulled away quickly and peeled his soaked jacket off her body to give back to them.

"Get home safely," she said to him. He told her he would and walked down the steps to the pavement. He had almost made it to the corner when she called out to him. "Remember you promised that first train trip to Kyoto!"

He turned around, grinning, pleased that she was still outside watching him. "Depends on how you treat me from now on, and whether you pay for my ticket there."

Even from their distance apart from each other, he could see her distinctive eye-roll. "You're stupid, Tai."

* * *

As usual, sorry for the late update, but I will be honest and say the next will probably take just as long or even longer. I've gone through a few major life changes since mid-December, and I'm still adjusting. However, one of my readers, alexser, suggested I write updates on my profile so anyone who is curious can track the progress of the next chapter. I don't know if it will be of interest to anybody else, but this is just to inform you guys that it's there. (I also think it's a fantastic idea for any other writer!)

Unrelated: My same-aged cousin in Japan gifted me a PSP and this new game based on the first series of Digimon for my birthday. I can honestly say that I've never gotten into a videogame in my entire life, but I will force myself to play this one. They even got the original voice actors and everything!

Even more unrelated: I had a meeting with somebody last week, and her name is—wait for it—Miyako Inoue. Had we not met under professional circumstances, I would have told her that she shares the same name as Yolei from Digimon.


	24. Chapter 24

As always, thank you a million times for your reviews, and I apologise for the wait. I know it doesn't always seem like it because it's been over three months since my last update, but I really do appreciate all the support I've received.

**A Losing Game  
Chapter 24**

It was the kind of perfect morning that came very rarely. He woke up early and fully rested without the help of any external alarms. He washed, ate breakfast and felt motivated to work his hardest. Lately, that motivation had been difficult to come across.

Then, as cruel as life was, the moment he sat down at his desk, the doorbell rang and his mother informed him that he had visitors.

"Hiiiiiiii!"

"Yo, Izzy."

Izzy stared at his two visitors, feeling too upset by their sudden, unwarranted presence in his workspace to properly greet them. Tai Kamiya and Mimi Tachikawa, two people who probably were best at distracting him, were standing at the threshold of his door, inviting themselves inside.

"Hmph, how rude! We're your _guests_, Izzy! At least say hello!"

"I told you he wouldn't want to see us."

"What are you doing here?" he settled with finally, still haven't moved from his chair.

"No manners," Mimi huffed, crossing her arms. "I forgot how rude you all are. You guys really need to learn some etiquette!"

"We'll start by rudely pointing out how rude people are every chance we get," Tai muttered sarcastically, earning him a hard fist being slammed into his shoulder. He grinned at her, making her scowl further.

Were they flirting? Never a big flirter, he had no idea, but there had been whispers of a summer fling that had spread throughout their group. In all honesty, that was a major reason as to why he didn't want them here. He had seen Tai with his exes. He didn't want to be around that. He had also heard Mimi's baby voice when speaking to her ex. He _definitely_ didn't want to be around that.

Call him a sceptic, but he thought Tai and Mimi made a horrible couple, but quite frankly, he didn't have time to care. He was in the middle of writing the most important essay of his life. It was only his future on the line.

"Er, is there a reason you two…" he trailed off, not wanting to complete his question in case Mimi would once again christen him the rudest human being of all time.

"We've come because Tai is acting stupid, and you're the smartest person I know! Are you busy?" She stared at him with those large, doe eyes of hers. He found out throughout the years that they were dangerously deceptive.

"Actually, I—" He stopped himself. Why was he even going to bother when he was up against Tai and Mimi, two people who always got what they wanted? "I have a little bit of time, I guess."

"Do you see how nice Izzy is compared to you?" Mimi immediately hissed, glaring at Tai.

"I'm here, aren't I?" he said back, his voice that nonchalant, uncaring tone that only made Mimi glare harder.

"Hmph!" Mimi huffed, flipping her hair in Tai's direction. Her eyes widened as she saw the books laid out on Izzy's desk. "Wow, Izzy! Look how much you read!"

She then proceeded to pick up every single one of his study materials, possibly turning the page after he had spent a good part of the previous evening perfecting everything. Too passive to say anything aloud, he simply put his hand over each book Mimi tried to pick up until she got the hint.

"You're already starting your summer homework?" Mimi cried. "It's the beginning of August!"

Even though he doubted either one of them cared, he explained anyway. "Actually, I was selected as a candidate for a merit-based scholarship, and I have to write a research paper on the legal implications of nanotechnologies. These are just some reference materials I borrowed from the library."

"Mmm… okay!" Mimi said cheerily, the expression on her face indicating that she hadn't really listened. "When you're done, will you help me with my summer homework?"

Izzy smiled tightly as an answer, then looked over to Tai. "Is there a reason you two are here?"

"Of course there is!" Mimi answered for Tai, jumping right into Izzy's line of vision. "Tai here tells me that you know everything!"

He gave her a puzzled look until she elaborated further.

"About his undying love for Sora!"

"Can you stop?" Tai muttered immediately.

Izzy narrowed his eyes at his friend. This again?

"Mimi's mental," Tai tried to explain, though by not giving him context, he was not really explaining anything.

"Tai's lazy!"

Suddenly realising what this was, Izzy carefully asked, "Are you two fighting and making me be the mediator?"

Tai and Mimi both gave him puzzled looks, even though they were the ones who came by unannounced with no explanation.

"You two are fighting about something, and you're making me be the tiebreaker, right?" Izzy explained. "I'm not really comfortable with butting into your relationship…"

Mimi burst into laughter, making Tai glare and Izzy blush.

"I'm sorry, Izzy," Mimi gasped when she had finished laughing. "I just find it so funny that people believe I would ever go for someone like Tai."

"Because I'm clearly better-looking than you are."

She frowned. "Er, excuse me, Tai, but I think anybody with decent vision can tell which of us is the more attractive one. Izzy, tell me, who do you think is prettier: me or Tai?"

"I—"

"That isn't fair! He's going to pick you because you're a girl."

"No, he's going to pick me because I'm prettier than you, but if you're going to get all technical, should I ask Sora? I bet she'll say me too."

It was Tai's turn to glare, and he raised his arms in the air with frustration. "I can't take this. I can't take you. Get away from me. Go back to New York."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You're just angry because it's true."

"I'm angry because you drive me up a wall, Meems."

"I'm _helping_ you!" Mimi seethed, driving her fist into Tai's shoulder.

"Do you see this?!" Tai instantly barked at Izzy, pointing at his shoulder. "Do you see what I deal with?!"

Izzy sighed. Why had they come all this way just for this? Why couldn't they deal with their disagreements by themselves? They were probably the only two people in the world who thought he was a great listener. He was a terrible listener.

"Anyway, we've come because Mimi is crazy, and you should knock some sense into her," Tai explained.

"No, you're crazy!" Mimi hissed. She then turned to Izzy. "Tell Tai that he has to follow his heart to be with his one true love!"

Tai frowned. "For the millionth time, stop saying things like that." He turned to Izzy. "Side note: Mimi knows everything about Sora. She's here to convince you to convince me to do something crazy. Stop her."

"I'm not crazy!" Mimi snapped.

"I told you. If you can get Izzy to agree with you, I'll do whatever you say."

"I really don't have time—"

"Tai won't go after Sora even though he's in love with her!" Mimi interrupted angrily. "Izzy, will you _please_ tell Tai he's stupid for giving up his chance just because Sora is in a relationship that is doomed anyway?"

He had to admit he had been about as interested in Tai and Mimi's squabble as he was the topic of this horrendous essay he had to write, but when the realisation struck that Mimi was trying to make Tai break Matt and Sora up, to make him go down that destructive path again, he couldn't help but show concern.

"_What_ are you two planning?" he asked sternly.

"_I'm_ not planning anything," Tai corrected nonchalantly, making himself comfortable by lying on Izzy's bed. "I'm only here so I can watch you freak out at Mimi like you did with me. Believe me, this is rich. What Mimi has is pure gold."

Mimi shot Tai another look, shutting him up.

"Just _listen_!" Mimi pleaded, turning to Izzy. "I know you're busy with school, but these are our friends!"

He sighed but agreed, knowing it was the only way to get rid of them.

His indifference turned to horror as Mimi filled him in on what he could only describe as an evil plot to destroy four friends forever. He almost thought this was a prank, as there was no way on earth that she was being serious.

When Mimi had finished explaining, Izzy turned his head to Tai, who was watching with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Please tell me you aren't actually thinking about going through with this," he asked robotically, already dreading the time it would take him to convince the stubborn Tai out of this madness.

Tai propped himself on an arm. "You tell me. Should I go through with it?" Izzy felt his brain nearly explode with frustration, but then Tai smirked, sitting up. "Of course I'm not thinking about going through with it. She's mad."

"You actually are," Izzy agreed without thinking, somewhat relieved that Tai thought the same, though he still worried that a part of Tai wanted to go through with it. "Is that why you two have been acting so into each other?"

"See!" Mimi cried happily to Tai. "I told you people are falling for it! Even Izzy believed it! I'm telling you, Tai. I could be an actress if I wanted to."

"You aren't hot enough to be an actress, Meems."

Izzy watched in half-frustration, half-disbelief as his friends argued with each other, Tai saying things he knew would make Mimi angry while Mimi got angry even though he was obviously joking.

Why were they here?

"Don't you dare check your phone while I'm talking to you! Are you ignoring me?!"

Tai, who had evidently stopped paying attention when his mobile beeped, looked up from the device. "I have to go."

Mimi darted in front of him, as if that'd stop him. "This is _important_."

"We can plot to destroy the world some other time, but I've got soccer practice, so—"

Tai and Mimi were still bickering, but Izzy zoned them out, feeling an anger burn in him, even though he wasn't quite sure if Tai was joking around or not.

Regardless, this was unacceptable.

"Are you two quite done?" he snapped loudly, not really knowing if he had just interrupted their conversation. "Whatever the hell you two are planning, you should feel ashamed—"

"_I'm_ not planning anything," Tai interrupted with a calm shrug, annoyingly unfazed. "This is all Mimi. I only tagged along because she made me."

"Well, you shouldn't have come at all. I have things to do, and honestly listening to this mindless scheme is at the bottom of my list, especially if it means you are trying to intrude on a perfectly good relation—"

"Oh, blah blah blah! Yuck, Izzy, don't be such a grouch!" Mimi cried. "We aren't 'intruding.' We're _helping_ them."

Tai laughed, making Mimi smile, and Izzy briefly wished he had the kind of personality where he could blow up on them and they'd take him seriously. But it was Tai and Mimi. Neither of them took him seriously.

"Anyway, I really have to go," Tai pleaded Mimi. "I made the mistake of telling my coach that I wasn't going anywhere for the holiday, and he won't let me join the team again unless I put in extra practice. I think he's trying to teach me a lesson."

"Honestly, Tai, what's more important? Some silly sport, or your future happiness?"

"Sport." Tai gently nudged her out of the way. "I'll see you guys later. Have fun studying, Izzy."

Mimi scowled, glaring at the door that Tai had just walked through. "He is so rude. I seriously can't stand him."

It took a lot to break Izzy's patience. He didn't get angry often, and even when he did, he got over things fairly quickly.

She stood up from her seat, smoothing her dress with her hands. "I guess I'll go too then, since you're so busy. Thanks for having us over, Izzy!"

He almost felt wrong for getting so angry at her, but he couldn't blame himself either. They were the same age, but she was still just a child to him.

"Hold on. Can I talk to you for a second?"

She looked down at him, bright eyes twinkling as she smiled that pretty smile of hers at him. "Sure! What is it, Izzy?"

"You—" He stopped himself, his bravery slipping for a second. As simple as he found her, she could get intimidating. He collected himself again. "Don't meddle in Tai's life."

He felt like nobody ever took him seriously, Mimi most of all. Indeed, her expression showed no hint that she had even taken his words in.

"Don't be silly, Izzy. I'm not meddling." She put a hand over her mouth, giggling.

He frowned. "I'm being serious. We aren't children anymore, and Tai isn't your doll for you to control. He was in a really bad place before you came around, and if you had seen him at his worst, you wouldn't be so eager to 'help' him right now."

"Tai?" she asked with a roll of her eyes. "He's fine."

"No, you don't understand." Though a part of him felt like he shouldn't disclose Tai's privacy, especially to somebody like Mimi, he thought it was important that she understood the situation entirely.

In all honesty, he along with everyone else had also thought it was only a matter of time before Tai and Sora would start dating each other, but if it turned out that they were only meant to be friends, it wasn't anyone's place—not his, not Mimi's, not even Tai's—to try to alter that.

He found himself a little surprised that Mimi's expression turned more serious. "That's horrible."

"Exactly, so don't—"

"But you haven't been living with Sora the way I have," she interrupted, speaking over him. "I've seen Matt and Sora together, and they aren't good for each other at all. They just try extra hard to please each other, so they don't even know what the other is like. They only like the idea of something that isn't even real. As their friend, shouldn't I do something?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but whatever it is, it doesn't justify your actions. You have to understand that whatever your opinion is, it doesn't mean you get to play God. Tai was out of control, and he finally found a place where he's healing, but you pushing him back isn't doing him any favours. Aren't you his friend too? So why are you trying to ruin him? I know you aren't purposely trying to be so selfish, and I understand that you think you're doing a good thing, but you keep forgetting that you only come here once a year, Mimi. You come during the one moment in the year when we all get together for your sake, but that isn't what we're like anymore. I've seen more of Joe since you got here than I have in the past year combined." He ignored the sudden look of sadness on her face, not wanting it to distract from his message. "Your plan is mad, but Tai is already in a state of mind where he won't be able to distinguish that. You aren't, so why are you feeding him? Are you really that naïve, or are you just that selfish? Are you sure you're even their friend? It doesn't really sound like you are."

Mimi was a crier, and he knew he had pushed her limit when he saw her eyes mist over.

Perhaps it had been a little much. He had felt himself get angrier with each point, but he hadn't realized he had gone too far.

"I'm sorry," he said immediately, growing alarmed but trying his hardest not to succumb. "I shouldn't have been so harsh, but I saw Tai at his lowest point. It was bad."

She sniffled.

"A-and I'm really stressed out because of this research paper too," he said, glancing at his desk.

It was an excuse, but it wasn't a lie. He had stupidly picked the nanotechnology topic because he thought it would be something he could excel in, but because it focused on the legal impact, he couldn't really follow anything and had to start from scratch. He was used to things coming naturally to him, and this did not.

"You think I'm horrible, don't you?"

Mimi pulled this pitiful look sometimes that was rather good at making people feel sorry for her. It had never really worked on him, but maybe because he knew he was the source, today it did.

"I don't. I just think you have an unrealistic perception of reality."

She looked down on the floor, playing with her fingers. "I just want everyone to be happy."

"Then leave them alone."

"It's just…" She looked up at him again, her eyes watery and her voice breaking. "I would have really appreciated it if somebody had helped me too when I started dating Michael. Then maybe I wouldn't regret it so much."

At first he was just confused, but to his utter horror, she started bawling—loudly—definitely enough to where his mother could hear.

"I… er…"

He felt panic erasing every thought in his head, and he stood there as Mimi sunk to the floor, her crying growing louder by the second.

He didn't understand. Why did she always cry to _him_?

"He doesn't love me anymore," Mimi explained through sobs. "But I love him and he knows it and he uses it to his advantage and I know this too but I don't even care because I love him so much and we went camping and he told me he didn't like me anymore but I went bloody _camping_ for him and you know how much I hate that so why doesn't he like me?! Am I ugly?!"

She lost him somewhere in that rant.

He could still remember the first time she ever cried to him. He had just zoned her out and left her be, but now that he was older, he knew that was an unacceptable reaction. Not knowing what else to do, he robotically walked over to her, squatting by her as he awkwardly patted her shoulder.

"Everything will be fine. You'll find someone else."

This didn't help, as she started to sputter sentences he couldn't make out. His thoughts went back and forth between her wellbeing and his mother's inevitable entry, unable to think of anything else other than patting her back, which so far was having no effect.

However, another thing he knew about Mimi was that she swapped between moods in a blink of an eye. Indeed, less than a minute later, she stopped bawling, wiping away at her eyes.

"You'll be fine…" he stated awkwardly again.

She sniffled, the sobbing gone but her face still miserable and wet. "I know you're smart because you're writing a paper on nano-whatever, but how do you know?"

He shrugged, using the timing to remove his hand from her back. "We're just in high school. Even if it may seem like it now, what happens here isn't going to be the end of the world."

She huffed. "You don't know that. We're the same age, Izzy. You're in high school too. You might know more science than I do, but it doesn't mean you know more about life."

"Come back to me in five years and see if you agree with me then."

He passed her a box of tissues, and she took one to dab away at her eyes. "And what do I get if you're wrong?"

"Nothing. I already know I'm not wrong. He won't matter, Mimi, the same way Tai will eventually forget Sora too."

* * *

Mimi was too focused on applying her nail varnish to look up, but Sora could sense the excitement in her tone. "Tomorrow will be fun, don't you think? I haven't gone to a Tanabata festival in ages!"

Sora agreed, proud of herself for having arranged everyone else to go too. It was just the older ones in the group, plus TK and Kari, but it had been a bit of a nightmare to get everyone to agree. Joe especially had been a struggle, as he was convinced missing a day of his internship would inevitably lead to his termination.

"I can't wait to eat all the food," Mimi cried happily. "Japanese food in New York isn't the same, you know?"

Sora smiled as she nodded. "We'll eat a lot."

"Can we tell people to dress up?" Mimi asked, giggling. "How cute would that be?"

Sora thought about it for a second. TK and Kari would be easy to convince. Joe and Izzy would do it if they were forced. Tai would be impossible. Matt probably wouldn't do it either.

"I think that's pushing it," Sora concluded with a giggle.

Mimi giggled too and closed the cap of her nail varnish. "Well, I'll least have festive nails. Look, aren't they pretty?"

Mimi held out her hands to her. Sora was just about to respond when she saw her mobile light up on her nightstand. She reached over to see who was ringing her.

"Hey Tai."

Mimi looked up curiously.

"So, just to warn you," he started off, "you're going to be mad at me. Prepare yourself."

"Uh-oh… How mad on a scale of one to ten?"

"A solid seven? Maybe eight."

She frowned. "You just saying that already brought me up to a four."

He laughed on the other end. "I'm trying to ease you into it. Maybe I should have started off with something else? Sora, even though I can't see you, you look very nice today."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up, and tell me what you're going to say."

He sighed. "Fine, fine. It's about tomorrow. I can't go anymore."

"You can't go tomorrow?!" she repeated angrily. "Are you kidding me?"

Mimi looked up again.

"Coach pulled me in for another one-on-one tomorrow."

"You can't go because of _soccer_? You're prioritising _soccer_ over Mimi's short stay?"

"I'm not prioritising anything over anyone," he countered. "I thought I could go, but now I can't. Can't we just go the day after tomorrow?"

"Tanabata is one day, Tai!"

"But the festival isn't."

"We aren't going to reschedule because of you! Besides, we've already bought the train tickets. Nobody is going to buy them again."

"Exactly, so you guys go and have fun, and tell Mimi I'll make it up to her later."

"No!" Sora hissed, annoyed that Tai wasn't seeing where he was being rude. "Mimi's looking forward to _everyone_ being there! Tell your coach that you already have plans for tomorrow, and you'll have to reschedule."

"I can't. I'm already walking on thin ice. Look, it's not a big deal—"

"Tell that to Mimi!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Mimi asked, her expression full of confusion.

"Okay, also, remember how you told me you wouldn't nag at me for a month if I beat you at that soccer match that one time? That's still four more days from now according to our agreement, so stop nagging at me."

Furious that Tai was not taking her seriously, she hissed, "Fine!" and hung up on him.

"What happened?" Mimi asked again.

"Tai is the worst person on the planet, that's what," Sora fumed. "He says he can't come because he has soccer practice. Can you believe him?"

"Oh no…"

"He _knows_ how much planning went into this, and he backs out not even twelve hours before we're set to leave! He always does this, you know. I bet you anything his coach told him about this ages ago, but he forgot about it until just now, or he was just procrastinating to tell us until the last minute. I can't stand him. I honestly can't."

"I just saw him. It's no big deal. Don't fight because of me…"

"We aren't fighting," Sora said with an annoyed sigh. "He's just annoying. He's not even sorry! That's what makes me the angriest. Do you see how I hung up on him, but he isn't calling me back? This is exactly what I'm talking about. He just always assumes I'll get over it, and it's my fault because I'm an enabler. I hate him."

"You two are like an old married couple."

She frowned. "Even if I ever did get married to Tai, I would never grow old because I'd die of stress within the first year."

"Well, like I said, I'm okay with it. I just saw him. It's not a big deal."

Even though Mimi was okay with it, and even though it was stupid to get worked up over it because Tai obviously couldn't care less, she still found it annoying.

* * *

They were all meeting at the train station in an hour, and even if Tai couldn't make it, Mimi was still excited. Although Sora had spent some time complaining about Tai the night before, she eventually got over it and was excited as well, saying seven out of eight was still quite good for a group as busy as them for a weekday afternoon.

"Should I bring entertainment for the train ride?" Mimi asked, rummaging through her suitcase for the book she had planned to read on the aeroplane ride home.

"Oh, hold that thought, Meems." Sora pulled her mobile out of her pocket and held it up to her ear. "Hi Matt."

Mimi left Sora to talk to her boyfriend and went back to debating with herself whether she wanted to take her book or buy some fashion magazines at the train station to read instead. She decided to go with the magazines, as Japanese magazines always came with gratis products. Perhaps she'd find something cute to take home.

He got so caught up in her inner struggle to decide between a novel and a magazine that she didn't even notice when Sora had finished her call.

"Mimi, I have bad news."

She looked up to see Sora appearing slightly nervous.

"What's wrong?"

Sora hesitated. "…Matt can't go today…" Looking upset, she quickly added on, "He's really sorry. He's been extremely busy lately, and he really wanted to go, but he has band practice. You know, there are four people, and it's a bit difficult for them to find times when all are available, so they each have to make sacrifices. I hope you can understand. I know you must be disappointed…"

Mimi smiled gently. "Of course I understand. That's fine."

Sora looked relieved. "Oh, good. I just want you to know that he's really sorry about it. He really wanted to go."

Mimi tried to think of Matt feeling really sorry. She couldn't imagine it, and she certainly couldn't imagine it for something like this. Sora was probably exaggerating it so she wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"He's lucky to have a girlfriend like you, Sora."

Her friend looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Mimi shrugged her shoulders. "It's just you're really understanding of him."

Sora's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Well, I just don't want you to misinterpret his intentions…"

Mimi smiled again and turned back to her suitcase.

Sora hadn't picked up on what Mimi was actually thinking.

Matt had essentially done the exact same thing Tai had done the night before, but Sora had reacted in a completely different way. To be honest, she wasn't really sure what to make of that.

* * *

Sorry it's a bit rushed. I just knew if I didn't upload this now, it'd be another week before I got around to it.

10 June 2013  
(This date doesn't mean anything. I just want to keep track of when I upload moving forward.)


End file.
